Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

A jury has found polygamist and FLDS leader Warren Steen Jeffs guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape for his role in arranging a marriage between a then 14-year-old girl and her 19-year old first cousin. The verdict was announced in a Utah courtroom on Tuesday after 16 hours of deliberation by the jury. Jeffs’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November. The polygamist leader could face anywhere from five years to life in prison.

During the two-week trial, prosecutors argued that Jeffs knew that the girl did not want to marry her cousin and that she would be forced to have sex with him after the wedding.

The victim, now 21, testified against Jeffs during the trial. She said that she begged the FLDS leader not to make her marry her cousin. She claims that Jeffs told her that giving herself to her spouse was her religious duty and that she should submit to her cousin’s will.

Jeffs’s criminal defense team argued that there is no way he could have known that the girl was going to be raped. They claimed that the victim did not clearly articulate the problems that she was having with her husband. Jeffs’s criminal defense lawyers plan to appeal the verdict.

Here is a timeline of key events from the Warren Jeffs case, from the time he was indicted in 2005 to the time of his arrest at a Las Vegas traffic light on August 28, 2006:

June 2005 - A Mohave County, Ariz., grand jury indicts Warren Jeffs on charges of sexual misconduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual misconduct with a minor. He is accused of arranging a polygamous marriage between a teenage girl and an older man. Federal prosecutors in Arizona charge Warren Jeffs with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

July 2005 - Utah and Arizona's Attorneys General announce a $10,000 reward for information leading to Warren Jeffs' arrest.

December 2005 - A woman known as "M.J." files a lawsuit in Cedar City against Warren Jeffs, accusing him of forcing her into a polygamous marriage with an older man.

April 2006 - Warren Jeffs is charged in St. George with rape as an accomplice, a first-degree felony. He is accused of forcing a teenage girl into a polygamous marriage to an older man. A $500,000 warrant was issued for Jeffs' arrest.

May 2006 - The U.S. Attorney for Utah files a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution against Warren Jeffs. Warren Jeffs is named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

Aug. 28, 2006 - Warren Jeffs is captured in a traffic stop outside Las Vegas. He is in the company of a brother and one of his wives.

Polygamist 'prophet' found guilty of aiding rape, CNN.com, September 25, 2007

Warren Jeffs Timeline, Rickross.com, August 29, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Warren Jeffs and the FLDS, NPR

Related Web Resources:

Sexual Assault and Rape, Norfolk District Attorney's Office

Sentencing Guidelines Grid, The Massachusetts Court System

Continue reading "Polygamist Warren Jeffs Found Guilty of Accomplice to Rape" »

Pop Superstar Britney Spears has been charged with one misdemeanor count of hit and run driving and one misdemeanor count of driving without a valid California driver’s license. The incident allegedly took place last August at a San Fernando Valley parking lot where she is accused of smashing her vehicle into a car and then leaving the accident scene.

On video footage shot by the paparazzi, Spears is seen hitting another motor vehicle with her car while trying to park her car in a space at the lot. The footage shows her examining the damage to her vehicle and then leaving the accident scene.

The owner of the other vehicle, Kim Robard-Rifkin, filed a report with the LAPD on August 9, three days after the hit and run accident. She says she discovered that Britney was the alleged suspect that hit her car when she read about the incident on CelebTV.com. She says she just wants her car repaired.

Each misdemeanor count carries a jail sentence of up to six months and a $1,000 maximum fine in California. Spears’s arraignment is scheduled for October 10.

Whenever you are in a motor vehicle accident, you are expected—by law—to remain at the accident scene and exchange contact information with any other parties that are involved. If a driver hits a parked motor vehicle, the majority of U.S. states require that the driver responsible for causing the accident make a reasonable attempt to notify the other driver of the accident.

In Massachusetts, a driver has five days to report the motor vehicle accident if the collision resulted in injury or death or there was property damage greater than $1,000.

Here is the Massachusetts law regarding hit and run driving from the General Laws of Massachusetts:

Chapter 90: Section 26. Accident reports; supplemental report; penalty for violation

Section 26. Every person operating a motor vehicle which is involved in an accident in which any person is killed or injured or in which there is damage in excess of one thousand dollars to any one vehicle or other property shall, within five days after such accident, report in writing to the registrar on a form approved by him and send a copy thereof to the police department having jurisdiction on the way where such accident occurred; provided, however, that such police department shall accept a report filed by an owner or operator whose vehicle has been damaged in an accident in which another person has unlawfully left the scene of such accident. Such report shall not be required during the period of incapacity of any person who is physically incapable of making a report. If the operator is not the owner of the vehicle and is physically incapable of making such written report, the owner shall within five days after the accident make such report based on such knowledge as he may have and such information as he can obtain regarding the accident.

The registrar may revoke or suspend the license of any person violating any provision of this section.

If you have been charged with hit and run driving in Massachusetts or of driving without a valid license, you should hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who is knowledgeable about traffic violations cases to represent you.

You have the right to remain silent until you speak with a criminal defense lawyer. It is a good idea to exercise this right if you don’t want to accidentally incriminate yourself.

Britney Spears faces hit-run charge, CNN, September 22, 2007

Spears Charged with Brit and Run, TMZ, September 21, 2007

Chapter 90: Section 26. Accident reports; supplemental report; penalty for violation, The General Laws of Massachusetts

Related Web Resources:

Read the Charges Against Britney Spears (PDF)

Hit and Run Cases, Online Lawyer Source

Continue reading "Britney Spears Charged with Misdemeanor Hit and Run Driving and Driving Without a Valid License" »

There are now 11 formal criminal charges against former football hero O.J. Simpson in the alleged armed robbery crime at a hotel room in the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas last Thursday. 10 of the charges are for felony crimes and include kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.

According to prosecutors, Simpson committed kidnapping—along with his co-defendants—because they meant to detain or hold the two alleged robbery victims. The ex-football player and three other people are accused of pointed guns at sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley and collector Bruce Fromong while they stole the sports memorabilia, Beardsley’s sunglasses and baseball cap, and Fromong’s cell phone from the room. Fromong, who suffered a massive heart attack after the alleged robbery is in critical condition at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police say that Simpson allegedly masterminded the armed robbery—although he has denied that a robbery ever took place or that there were guns involved. Two guns, however, were recovered.

In an audiotape recording, Simpson can be overheard ordering the men around and accusing someone of stealing from him. He claims that the items he recovered belonged to him and were stolen from him.

Simpson was released from jail after paying $125,000 in bail. His arraignment is scheduled for October 22. He is expected to plead not guilty to the criminal charges.

Kidnapping
In Massachusetts, kidnapping is considered a crime against a person that is punishable for up to 10 years in prison. Massachusetts General Laws, Crimes Against the Person – Chapter 265, Section 26, describes kidnapping as the confinement or imprisonment of a person secretly, forcibly, or without lawful authority and against the person’s will.

Kidnapping is considered a very serious felony crime. Kidnapping, accompanied by the extortion of money or other valuables, can be grounds for a lifetime prison sentence.

Simpson released from jail, CNN.com, September 19, 2007

Prosecutors charge O.J. Simpson and three others, CNN.com, September 18, 2007

Massachusetts General Laws - Crimes Against the Person - Chapter 265, Section 26,

Related Web Resources:

O.J. Simpson Biography

Continue reading "OJ Simpson Now Charged With Kidnapping—and 10 Other Charges—in Las Vegas Casino Hotel Robbery Case" »

Former football star O.J. Simpson was arrested on Sunday. He was charged with six felonies related to an armed robbery at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.

Simpson was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary with a firearm, and one count of conspiracy to commit burglary. He is being held without bail.

According to the former football star, he and a number of people he met at a cocktail party conducted a “sting operation” last Thursday to retrieve some stolen sports memorabilia that belonged to him. He has denied committing any crime.

Sports memorabilia dealer Alfred Beardsley says that Simpson and four men came into his room at the hotel and took memorabilia, including pictures and books signed by Simpson, Beardsley’s cell phone, and lithographs of former San Francisco 49er football player quarterback Joe Montana with them. Beardlsey says that two of the men were armed.

Simpson says that he and the men went into the hotel room and pretended that they wanted to buy the suit that he wore to court in 1995 on the day he was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. They also took a picture of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover with them, as well as Simpson’s Hall of Fame Certificate. Simpson says that the items that had belonged to him had been stolen from him a number of years ago.

Theft crimes are punishable criminal offenses. Petty theft crimes (involving less than $250), shoplifting, grand larceny (involving more than $250), forgery, stealing property, auto theft, accepting stolen property, burglary, pick pocketing, mail fraud, robbery, and burglary, and white collar theft are all theft crimes.

The value and nature of the stolen items and whether the person has any prior criminal conviction can affect the penalty of a person convicted of a theft crime. A theft where more than $250 in property was stolen is considered a felony crime.

Also arrested on Saturday in connection to the robbery is Walter Alexander, 46. He was arrested on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary with a dead weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery.

O.J. Simpson Arrested on Robbery Charges, New York Times, September 16, 2007

O.J. Simpson Arrested in Vegas Robbery, AP, September 16, 2007

Sports Memorabilia Dealer Implicates O.J. Simpson in Hotel Room Robbery, NY Times, September 15, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Palace Station Hotel and Casino

Continue reading "O.J. Simpson is Arrested in Casino Armed Robbery Case" »

Warren Steed Jeffs, the leader and prophet of the country’s biggest polygamist sect, is about to stand trial for accomplice to rape. Jeffs’s accuser, a woman under police protection, was 14 years old when Jeffs forced her to take part in a “spiritual marriage” with her 19-year-old first cousin—despite her wish that she not marry him. Jeffs married the couple in Las Vegas. The marriage, however, was not sanctioned by the state of Nevada.

Jeffs is charged with two felony counts of rape as an accomplice. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The fourth day of jury selection ended today.

The girl told police that she was uncomfortable with her husband’s sexual demands, but that Jeffs advised her that to obey him was her spiritual duty. According to Jeffs, not obeying her spouse would cause her to lose her salvation. He also referred to her husband as her spiritual leader.

Jeffs is the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS). There are more than 8,000 FDLS members. Many girls, as young as age 13, are forced to marry men chosen by FDLS leaders. Men need at least three wives to get to heaven and women must have one baby a year.

About 70 followers are listed as possible witnesses for his trial. Former FDLS followers say that child molestation, incest, and spousal abuse are common within the FDLS community.

For 115 days, Jeffs was included on the list of the FBI’s Most Wanted. He was apprehended in Las Vegas in August 2006. Following his trial in Utah, Jeffs will have to answer to arrest charges in Arizona.

Accomplice to Rape
Being charged as an accomplice to rape means that Jeffs isn’t’ charged with physically rape the girl. He is charged because he forced a minor to marry an older man.

Polygamist prophet is now a criminal defendant, CNN.com, September 12, 2007

Prophet or accomplice to rape?, Winnipeg Free Press, September 9, 2007

Polygamist in Utah court on Rape charge, USA Today, November 22, 2006

Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs Appears in Court, CNN, November 21, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Wanted by the FBI, FBI.gov

Continue reading "Polygamist Warren Jeff’s Criminal Trial is About to Begin" »

Carlos A. Pizarro, one of three former Boston police officers that were arrested in an undercover drug bust last year, pled guilty to federal cocaine charges yesterday. He pled guilty to possession of 100 kg of cocaine with intent to distribute and a second count of cocaine possession with intent to distribute. As part of the plea deal, the government dropped its charge that Pizarro engaged in heroin trafficking.

Pizarro has already spent a year in jail while waiting for his trial. In court yesterday, Pizarro admitted to guarding a shipment of cocaine in 2006 for drug dealers that were actually undercover FBI agents. The other two ex-police officers, Nelson Carrasquillo and Roberto Pulido, continue to maintain their innocence.

The plea deal does not obligate Pizarro to testify against his two former partners. He does, however, have to provide details regarding his own involvement in any crimes. He also has to give up the $17,000 he was given to protect the drug shipment. The government will now recommend that he serve no more than 14 years in prison.

The three former police officers were taken into custody in Miami in July 2006 when they came to a meeting with undercover FBI agents. The agents paid the three men the remaining $36,000 of their $51,000 fee for guarding the shipment while it was transported to Jamaica Plain from Western Massachusetts.

Pulido, dubbed the group’s ringleader, is also accused of identity theft, bringing illegal immigrants into the country, selling steroids, insurance fraud, and guarding parties attended by drug dealers, police officers, and prostitutes at a warehouse in Hyde Park. He had initially been suspended without pay after his arrest related to the undercover drug bust. He was fired in May 2007, however, after he refused to take his yearly drug test.

Pulido has to stay in jail until the case is resolved. Carrasquillo is out on bail.

Here are a few facts about drugs in Massachusetts from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's web site:

• The primary drugs that are abused in Massachusetts are heroin and cocaine.
• MDMA, a club drug, is also widely available in Massachusetts
• Other drugs that are readily available in Massachusetts include marijuana, Roxicet, Percocet, and OxyContin

A person can be apprehended for drug-related charges if he or she is found trafficking drugs, distributing drugs, smuggling drugs, manufacturing drugs, laundering money related to drug deals, or drug possession.

Ex-officer admits guilt in drug case, Boston.com, September 11, 2007

Massachusetts 2007: Drugs and Drug Abuse, DEA

Related Web Resources:

Drugs and Crime Facts, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics

Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Drug Policy Alliance

Continue reading "Ex-Boston Cop Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charges " »

In Suffolk Superior Court, the second murder trial of John Gomes, 30, began with opening statements. Gomes is charged with the first-degree murder of Ildobrando Correia, a Dorchester youth soccer coach that was shot to death at the age of 45 in August 2002.

Correia was in his car, having just dropped off an elderly friend, when Gomes allegedly fired 18 shots into the motor vehicle and fled the scene. Prosecutors say that Gomes mistakenly thought Correia, a husband and a father, was a rival.

Gomes allegedly got rid of the 9mm semiautomatic handgun—tagged as the murder weapon—behind a house.

Following Gomes’s murder, Correia moved several times across the U.S. before being caught by police at a traffic stop in Florida. His first trial began in May 2006, but the attorney for the defense left the case after Gomes allegedly tried to choke him with his necktie. Gomes faces assault charges in that attack.

First-Degree Murder
The law in Massachusetts defines first-degree murder to include murders committed with deliberate and premeditated intent. “Deliberate premeditation” is the phrase used for the thought process that the alleged perpetrator went through in order to kill the victim. There must also be what is called “malice aforethought." This means that the murderer intended to inflict serious physical harm or death upon another person without legal justification or acted in a way that serious injury or death was very likely inevitable. In the instance of the latter, however, malice aforethought can consist of the murderer knowing that his actions likely would have lead to serious injury or death.

First-degree murder can also be committed with extreme cruelty, which means that the murder victim experienced suffering more cruel that most others that die by murder. The way that the victim died, whether the murderer enjoyed or was indifferent to the victim’s pain, the extent of physical injuries, and how much the victim suffered are all factors.

In a felony first-degree murder, a murder is committed while committing a felony crime that purposely disregarded human life and resulted in the death.

A person convicted of first-degree murder in Massachusetts faces life in prison and no parole.

For 2d time, man's murder trial begins, Boston.com, September 7, 2007

Jury selection begins in Dorchester dad slay case, Bostonherald.com, September 5, 2007

Chapter 265: Section 1. Murder defined, The General Laws of Massachusetts

Continue reading "Massachusetts Man Faces Second Murder Trial In the Shooting of Dorchester Youth Soccer " »

According to youth advocates, teenagers, and street workers, girl groups in Massachusetts are continuing to inflict violence on each other—despite the latest police figures.

The violence is reportedly triggered by gossip and jealousy. Knives, fists, and razors have fast become the common weapons of choice in these kinds of juvenile crimes. Girls getting ready for a fight will reportedly smear petroleum jelly on their faces so that their opponent’s fingernails won’t leave facial scars. One popular kind of assault crime, called “a buck fifty,” leave the slashing victim with such a deep cut on her face that it should take 15 stitches to close the wound.

Boston police, however, say that violent crimes between girls have gone down since 2005. From January 1 to August 15, 2006, 112 girls, ages 14-19, were apprehended for participating in aggravated assault crimes on other females. This year, during the same time period, only 96 girls were apprehended. As of August 1, 2007, there are 302 less women in custody with the Department of Youth Services than there were by August 1 of last year.

Others, however, have expressed concern that the lower figures do not indicate a decrease in gang violence, but are a reflection of the growing reluctance of girls to report that they have been the victim of assault by a girl gang because of fear and embarrassment.

Although studies show that girls tend to join groups for safety reasons, many of them end up getting hurt because of the rivalries that can arise between groups.

Juvenile Crimes
In Massachusetts, minors that are arrested for committing crimes do stand a chance of being served a less severe penalty than an adult convicted of the same kind of crime. If a juvenile is convicted for committing a serious crime, such as rape, assault with a deadly weapon, or other kinds of felony crimes, the young person could be handed over to the Department of Youth and placed in its custody until age 18.

In Massachusetts, a juvenile is a young person between 7 and 17 years of age. Juveniles charged with committing a crime in Massachusetts are usually prosecuted in juvenile court.

Youthful Offender Law
Massachusetts’s Youthful Offender allows the state to prosecute teenagers, ages 14-17, that are charged with a felony crime as “Youthful Offenders” if they fit the following criteria:

• He or she is already committed to the Department of Youth Services (DYS).

• He or she is charged with a crime that involves the "infliction or threat of serious bodily harm.

• He or she is charged with a firearm offense.

Conviction as a Youthful Offender can lead to House of Correction or adult prison sentences and other serious penalties.

Vicious attacks by girl cliques seen increasing, Boston.com, September 4, 2007

MA Courts, Probation and the Department of Youth Services (DYS), Youth Advocacy Project.org

Related Web Resources:

Department of Youth Services, Mass.gov

Girl Gangs: Are Girls Getting More Violent?, UIC.edu

Teenage Girls Buying into Gang Violence, Casanet.org

Continue reading "Assaults Among Girl Groups in Massachusetts Could be Growing Despite Lower Police Statistics" »

Authorities have released an audiotape of an interview between Idahoan Senator Larry Craig and the police officer that arrested him at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Craig was arrested earlier this month after allegedly trying to engage in lewd conduct in an airport bathroom. He later pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

In the audiotape, Craig can be heard accusing the arresting officer of trying to entrap him. The officer is heard denying this. He promises not to take Craig to jail if he cooperates and accuses the senator of lying to him repeatedly. The officer can also be heard trying to get Craig to admit to the crime.

On Tuesday, Senator Craig told reporters that he “overreacted and made a poor decision” when he pled guilty and that he did not participate in any “inappropriate conduct” in the airport bathroom.

No sexual contact is said to have taken place. According to the arresting officer, Craig's foot touched the officer’s foot while they sat next to one another in separate bathroom stalls.

Entrapment
Entrapment might have taken place if it can be proven that an investigating or arresting officer tried to induce a suspect into committing a crime that he or she would otherwise not have committed. It is not, however, considered entrapment if a person intended to commit the crime and law enforcement officers created a situation that allowed the person to do so.

If a defendant can prove that he or she was a victim of entrapment, he or she cannot be found guilty of the crime even if all the evidence points toward guilt.

Actions by police that can are considered entrapment include putting pressure on a defendant to commit the crime (includes harassing, pressuring, or coaxing the suspect) and giving someone a reason to commit the crime.

On tape, Craig denies allegations of soliciting officer, CNN.com, August 30, 2007

Entrapment, Lectlaw.com

Related Web Resources:

Airport Restroom Sex Senator Larry Craig Guilty Plea (Court Document)

Larry Craig: US Senator for Idaho

Continue reading "U.S. Senator Larry Craig Alleges Entrapment in Audiotape Recording of His Arrest for Lewd Behavior" »