Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

An East Boston High student may be wondering whether honesty is truly the best policy.

The Roxbury resident is a 17-year-old young man whom we will refer to hereinafter as the “Defendant”. He came into contact with law enforcement last Thursday when he entered his school at about 12:30 p.m. through an “unauthorized” door. As he did so, the officers say they “detected the odor of marijuana".

The officers patted him down. According to the Commonwealth, however, they needn’t have bothered. The lad is said to have confided in the officers that, “I just have a little gun”.

Well, it was cute when then First Lady Nancy Reagan said it so long ago...!

The officers say that the cooperative Defendant also told them where to find the little gun (in his bag) and to be careful because “there’s one in the pipe”. The palm-sized Saturday Night Special was found and indeed had six bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber. They also found more marijuana on the Defendant.

Continue reading "Boston Student Needs Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney After Bringing Marijuana And Gun To School" »

Hello. How is your Saint Patrick’s/Evacuation Day going? Various Massachusetts policepeople are particularly on guard today against people who might stereotypically drink alittle too much. Folks do strange things when they are drunk, and this blog has discussed many such incidents. One incident today, however, leaves many wondering if the gentleman responsible was drunk, disturbed or something in between.

A yet-to-be-determined suspect, believed to be a man, we’ll call him “Newton Gunman", had best meet with a Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer since he fired his gun in Newton in a very unsafe manner. The police say he is “armed and dangerous” after he fired multiple shots into the back door of a closed jewelry store today, according to law enforcement.

Newton Gunman is described as male, wearing a dark, collared jacket, and a hooded sweatshirt with jeans. According to the reports, Newton Gunman fired at least eight shots with his Newton handgun, silver in color, into a glass door at Cristofori Jewelers on Watertown Street just before 4:30 p.m.

While there were three employees inside, nobody was hurt..

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts Assault And Gun Crimes

Over the years, I have come upon various kinds of clients. Some say they don’t know what the Commonwealth is talking about when they bring nasty criminal allegations. Some have stories that make me think, “there but for the grace of G-d go I”. Others leaving me scratching my head and tilting it at various uncomfortable angles trying to find the one through which their little adventure seemed like a good idea at the time.

Continue reading "Newton Man Fires Gun Into Store And Needs Massachusetts Criminal Attorney -Fast" »

This week has not been a good one as far as the reputation of “higher learning” is concerned...and, for once, it had nothing to do with either drugs or bullying!

First of all, there is the case of Falmouth’s own Luk Van Parijs (hereinafter, “Penalized Prof.”, who has just pleaded guilty in Boston’s federal court to white collar crimes.

Penalized Prof. Is a 40-year-old former associate professor of biology from MIT. He was fired in 2005 for falsifying data in scientific papers. The papers concerned experimentation about generating a transgenic mouse in his lab. The charge was making a false statement in a federal research grant application, the US Attorney's Office said. He is due to be sentenced in June. He faces the potential of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

In 2009, Penalized Prof.’s career began to unravel when the federal Office of Research Integrity found that he had engaged in scientific misconduct by submitting the false data in numerous grant applications. He was also found to have falsified data in numerous scientific publications and presentations and one book chapter.

MIT’s embarrassment was shared today by a local law school today as well. Well, at least a student is embarrassed. And that’s the least of his problems now.

John Ethan Cassidy, a 26-year-old University of Massachusetts School of Law student (hereinafter, “Legal Gunner”) was arraigned today on a variety of firearms charges for allegedly possessing an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9mm pistol, Dartmouth police said. He was arrested yesterday evening as he left the school.

Legal Gunner had moved to the area in August 2010, police said in a statement. He was originally from Spring, Texas. Unfortunately, he was apparently also wanted on a warrant from that state. Law enforcement says he will also face charges at a later date of assaulting his roommate. The guns were apparently uncovered, along with large-capacity magazines and several hundred rounds of ammunition in his apartment.

Continue reading "Massachusetts College Professor And Law Student Face Criminal Charges Ranging From Assault, Guns And White Collar Crime – Attorney Sam’s Take" »

Recently, I was discussing a case with a client who was charged with possessing drugs with the intent to distribute in a school zone. It became clear that he had suddenly come into contact with the need to express a certain confusion.

It happened just after I explained to him, once again, that the School Zone count carried a mandatory minimum sentence of two years.

“Yeah, but they can’t send me to jail, even if convicted”, opined “Client X” (just think of him as a police officer who shot someone. They’re names are never revealed).

I asked him for the reasoning behind this legal opinion and he explained that he had a clean record and so, somehow, the mandatory minimum did not apply to him. I then reminded him that his record was far from clean. True, he had no prior convictions, but he had two pages of previous cases which had ended short of convictions, such as dismissals and a Continuance Without A Finding. Most of these cases, by the way had been drug cases.

“Ok”, he explained , moving happily along to Theory “B”, “but none of those cases involved this particular drug that they are charging me with now.”

The conversation became less happy when I explained that this did not really matter. In the vernacular, “drugs is drugs”. Particularly when the allegation is that you are selling them.

It is because of such misconceptions by those not trained in the law that I address today’s story.

Continue reading "18-Year-Old Lynn Man Faces Criminal Charges For Weapons...To Wit: Explosives – Attorney Sam’s Take" »

A Dorchester college student is currently being held without bail after being arraigned at Dedham District Court. According to law enforcement, the lad, Darryl Max Dookhran, 18, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was carrying a semi-automatic firearm in his backpack at Massachusetts Bay Community College in

According to the Wellesley police, detectives acted on a tip that the Defendant had the gun. They say that they then approached the Defendant as he was standing in line at the registrar's office. They then walked him into a nearby room. The Commonwealth says that the Defendant, upon this confrontation, backed against a wall and then kicked at detectives when they attempted to pat him down.

What followed, according to the Commonwealth is described as a “furious struggle with police”

Detectives say they found a Tec-9 gun in his backpack, with a loaded 18-round magazine.

He apparently says that it is not his gun and he has no idea how it got into his backpack.

Continue reading "Dorchester College Student Is Arrested For Bringing Gun To School" »

Anthony Simulynas, a 74-year-old man from Auburn, has been placed on 10 years of probation for charges arising from a seizure of 85 firearms and 800 pounds of ammunition from his home.

A former gun dealer, Simulynas pleaded guilty to 16 counts of possessing an infernal machine, two counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition without a firearm identification card, and one count of improperly storing a firearm. He was sentenced on Tuesday in Worcester Superior Court. His lawyer said that Simulynas never meant any harm. However, defenses like “I never meant any harm” do not stand up in a court of law.

Common defenses to gun charges are based on unconstitutional search and seizure or the inoperability of the gun. The criminal defense attorneys of Altman & Altman LLP have successfully defended countless gun charges in Massachusetts, and we aggressively employ these and other defenses for our clients.

The Boston Globe: Auburn man gets probation for having home arsenal

Continue reading "Auburn Man Placed on Probation After Search Uncovers Gun Arsenal " »

Kimani W., the Dorchester gentleman whom the police have arrested in connection with the four murders in Mattapan (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is on his way to court. He will be charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, marijuana and receiving a stolen motor vehicle.

Not murder. And not Boston.

Yet.

The Defendant was found in Manchester, New Hampshire. “We will begin the extradition process as soon as possible,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.

As you will recall, five people were found shot on Woolson Street in Mattapan a week ago. Four of the victims, including a 2-year-old toddler, died. A fifth victim is clinging to life in a Boston hospital.

Continue reading "Mattapan Ma Murder Suspect Charged With Guns, Drugs And Theft" »

Yesterday, we discussed Darryl B., (hereinafter, again, the “Defendant”) and his legal difficulties resulting from a confrontation with local police in Allston, MA. Said difficulties resulted in the awarding of the Commonwealth bracelets of shame, involuntary Commonwealth housing and various criminal charges including Armed Robbery, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and the like.

In brief, the Defendant is alleged to have robbed a polling place during Tuesday’s primary election with a gun. The police were notified and he fled. When the police caught up with him, the Defendant allegedly pointed the gun at them. Finally, deciding not to die, he put the gun down.

The Defendant has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, and being a Level III armed career criminal because of prior gun convictions for incidents in 2002 and 2004, Suffolk district attorney's spokesman Jake Wark said.

Often, I find that clients are surprised when, after committing a few criminal acts , they are charged with more criminal charges than they had expected.

It would not be surprising to hear the Defendant protest, “Ok, I stole the money, but I did not hit or shoot anybody! What’s with all the charges?”

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: “Robbery, Assault, Armed Career Criminal…What Did I Do?”" »

28-year-old Darryl B., of Allston, hereinafter, the “Defendant” may have severe legal problems right now, but the man is lucky to be alive. But for the restraint of Massachusetts law enforcement, he would have successfully committed what is commonly referred to as “suicide by cop”.

And the officer would have been justified.

Of course, this is not to say that things look too rosy for the Defendant right now. He is facing a variety of charges after he allegedly pulled a gun on police officers who were chasing him.

Why were they chasing him?

They received a report of an armed robbery near a polling place during Tuesday's primary election, Boston police said.

Apparently, the police were chasing the Defendant after the report of an armed robbery at about 3:30 p.m. in front of the Jackson/Mann school on Armington Street. He is said to have fled officers on a bike and then, after discarding the bike, ran into the rear of a house on Glenville Avenue where he pulled the gun and pointed it in the direction of an officer.

Continue reading "Boston-Area Robbery/Assault Suspect Re-Considers Pointing A Gun At Police" »

Big happenings in the Boston area! A police investigation into a robbery with a gun! What could be more exciting than a big SWAT team operation? The Bad Guys are usually cornered and lives hang in the balance as the Good Guys take control and take whatever Bad Guys still exist after the stand-off into custody.

Such was the scene at Fenwood Road in Mission Hill yesterday.

Well, almost.

It was a tense four hours last night as the investigating Boston Police Department special operations team and dozens of police units surrounded the apartment at issue.

The targets?

Armed robbery suspects! Pretty serious stuff!

Continue reading "A Boston Defense Attorney Discusses Police SWAT Investigation Into Armed Robbery" »

Ok, here is the scene. You are visiting your old pal Donny Dealer in Boston. You, being a good ol’ “party animal”, brought a bit of marihuana so you guys can party.

Donny was only too happy to party with you.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to you, there has been an investigation going on regarding Donny and a his other friends, Mickey Mule and Greg Grower. Apparently, the investigators have the crazy notion that Donny is involved in the drug trade.

And so it is that, midway through smoking your first joint, there is suddenly a lot of noise and commotion and you suddenly find yourself lying face down on the floor with police officers saying something about a search warrant.

The officers search the apartment.

Guess what?

They find a plethora of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. Apparently, Donny did not need you to bring your own hard-earned pot after all.

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: “Mr. Investigator, The Marihuana Is Mine, But The Cocaine, Heroin and Ecstasy aren’t. Really!”" »

The news to which we have referred a couple of times this week has remained in the news all week. Namely, Phillip Markoff, the alleged Craigslist Killer, apparently took his own life at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston. His attorney has expressed surprise and sadness and the local D.A. has proclaimed it to be consciousness of guilt.

Typical, right?

Well, there is an existing irony. When Markoff was arrested for his alleged crimes, our law enforcement leaders and politicians (both in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to name a few) seemed to proclaim the killing to be the fault of Craigslist and the professionals involved in the occupation of prostitution.

It was almost as if Mr. Markoff was secondary in the whole robbery and murder events.

Well, now that he has apparently committed suicide, people seem to, once again, be laying the blame for his actions on someone else.

This time, it is the fault of Nashua Street Jail.

Continue reading "Boston’s Sherriff’s Department Defends Against Blame And Investigates The Death Of Alleged Murderer Markoff" »

Hey, the weather this weekend is supposed to be really nice. Are you looking for a fun activity for a summer’s evening here in Boston? Well, might the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog suggest an evening at the fights?

No, I am not referring to wrestling or boxing or even a movie like “The Boxer” or “Rocky XVI”. Given the popularity of reality television, it is more in that vein. Sort of like a cross between that and watching some domestic violence...without the domestic.

If you would like a sample, just tune in to YouTube, Boston.com, or any one of a variety of websites sporting a video of a recent performance in Boston’s own Chinatown.

In watching it, you will be joining with Boston’s Finest. Currently, Boston police are reviewing a video that is circulating on-line of a violent altercation in Chinatown. Interest aside, there is apparently no investigation being conducted into the melee.

The 2-minute, 33-second video shows a group of seven gentlemen who appear to be harassing drivers and assaulting cars as they pass on Tyler Street in Chinatown.

Well, everybody has to have a hobby...!

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: Excitement With Assault, Battery And Weapons On A Fine Boston Evening" »

One thing that you get enough of as a Boston criminal lawyer is human drama. An example is the 10-year-old boy who accidentally fatally shot his cousin in 2007 in Roxbury. He has now testified at the trial of the boy's mother, who is now facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for not properly storing the gun used in the shooting.

At the time of the incident, he was 7 years old.

The boy began his testimony with smiles...but that soon changed as he recalled the day at issue.

He recounted that he had been watching TV with Liquarry J., 8, (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) when the Deceased showed him the gun that he said belonged to his teenaged half-brother .

"I asked him if there were bullets in the gun. He said, 'No,'" the boy said.

"I did it by accident," he said.

Continue reading "Roxbury MA Homicide Of Child Re-lived In Gun Trial Against Mother." »

This blog has discussed many stories about family disputes which get out of hand. Some have resulted in assaults which cause great injury. Others have been known to result in death…whether intentional or accidental.

This one, though, seems to have taken domestic violence to an unusual level.

Authorities say that they went to investigate a 911 call from a gentleman who claimed that his girlfriend had lunged at him with a knife and had tried to set his clothes on fire.

The officers arrived at the Somerville home at about 6:30pm yesterday. This was apparently not the first such response; police indicate that they had responded to the same home at about 3 a.m. after a neighbor reported shouting

When they arrived, 33-year-old Carol K. attacked them with a knife.

Continue reading "A Boston Defense Attorney Reviews A Deadly Case Of Domestic Violence" »

As a Boston criminal defense attorney, there is an oft-said and ill-fated sentence claimed by clients. It reads, “…but I didn’t know that was illegal!”

Unfortunately, such lack of knowledge does not usually matter. They really mean it when they say “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. Further, there are times when ignorance of the facts is basically irrelevent.

A prime example of the latter is the case of statutory rape. “But I didn’t know she was just shy of her thirteenth birthday…she told me she was twenty-five” is not going to be a viable defense.

Another example is something that a psychiatrist who teaches at Harvard Medical School (clearly not an ignorant man by any estimation, yet, hereinafter, the “Defendant”) said this week about the trouble in which he has now found himself.

He had been hosting a graduation party in New Hampshire. He has released a statement that he didn't know that there were students drinking at the high school graduation party .

Apparently, however, there were.

Continue reading "A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney’s View Of Knowledge And Guilt In The Criminal Justice System" »

As a Boston-area criminal defense attorney, I face many “There but for the grace of G-d go I” moments. As I have often discussed in these postings, I am constantly presented with lives that have been ruined by very bad moments. Such moments can change an otherwise on-track life into something of a living nightmare. Some people choose such moments on a regular basis. For others, dealing with the debris of one such moment is enough to last a life-time.

Last week, I side-stepped one such moment.

I was appearing on a murder case at Suffolk Superior Court which involved a shooting. As it turned out, the next door session had a murder trial of its own in which the jury was deliberating. Ironically, the subject matter of that case was related to my case. I waited awhile in case the verdict came, but it did not.

It came the next day instead. I wasn’t there, but I learned in the papers that the verdicts were guilty. But, as it turned out, the verdicts were the least of the excitement the court experienced.

Moments after the defendants were denounced by the deceased’s family for their “animalistic’’ actions in a victim impact statement, the courtroom exploded into a melee between said victims and families of the four men convicted of murdering the 16-year-old on a Dorchester street in 2007.

After being given the mandatory sentence for second-degree murder (life with the possibility of parole after serving 15 years) one of the convicted lads protested his innocence,

The clerk then announced that the men were sentenced to prison for their “natural life.’’
One of the defendants’ relatives shouted out, “What do you mean ‘natural life?’ ’’

Continue reading "Assault And Disorderly Conduct Charges Result From Boston Courtroom Murder Trial Sentencing" »

Last week, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog spent the week discussing the issue of bullying and the over-reactive indictments paraded before a hungry audience by a local district attorney.

Today, we return to high school. This time it is another high school though. The academic institution involved this time is the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. Yesterday, jury selection began in Woburn for the trial of John O., (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) who stands accused of stabbing a 15-year-old youth to death at the school. The Defendant was 16-years-old at the time.

The stabbing took place inside a high school bathroom in 2007.

The defense is not the typical “It wasn’t me” or, “It was self-defense”.

The defense is apparently that of diminished capacity. The Defendant was apparently a special education student who had been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism, and attention deficit disorder. More specifically, the defense says that his mental status left him unable to conform to the societal rules of behavior, especially when considering committing violent acts.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Jury Being Selected In High School Murder Case " »

There comes a time when any Boston criminal defense attorney is knocked almost speechless.

Almost.

Fortunately, this one can still write when that happens. It would appear that the law enforcement entities have come together and resolved several of the questions posed in yesterday’s Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog. The solution, though, reminds me of a famous escape scene from the movie “Blazing Saddles”, when the hero of the story, a black sheriff, is out-gunned and he puts his own gun to his head and says, “Make one move and the (“N-word”) get’s it!”

On the other hand...anything is possible.

I am referring to the findings announced yesterday by the Suffolk County District Attorney that 19-year old, apparently Cape Veridan, Manuel D. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) shot himself in the head, killing himself, because police officers wanted to talk to him.

Continue reading "Boston District Attorney Declares Shooting Death Amid Gunfight Was Suicide, Not Homicide " »

It is always a serious situation when an officer fires his or her weapon in the Commonwealth. This one is no different. Boston Police are continuing their investigation of a police-involved shooting in the Boston area (Dorchester) over the weekend which left 19-year-old Manuel D. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) dead. While we wait for the investigative dust to settle, we know one thing...lawyers will soon be involved.

"Based on preliminary investigation, it appears he fired on us, and officers returned fire," said Eddy Chrispin, a Boston Police spokesman. He further related that the Deceased was part of a group of men standing on a corner who were approached by police. He is said to have fled when officers drew near at around 9:41 p.m.

An unnamed police source also relates that the officers believed the teenager was involved in some of the gun-related violence that has been plaguing the area over the last couple of weeks and was being pursued for that reason when the gunfire exchange occurred.

Well, that’s one perspective. As usual, there are others..

According to some witnesses, the Deceased had actually gone to a memorial in Dorchester for a close friend of his who had recently died. Moments after he had arrived at the memorial, the deadly shoot-out with the police occurred.

One witness who grew up with the Deceased near the site of the shooting said that he and several friends were standing by the memorial when heard two shots ring out and saw numerous police officers rush in their direction. “Then there were more shots and more shots,’’ the witness described. “They didn’t have to shoot him like that, 15 times. He was running away and they just kept shooting at him.’’

Continue reading "Boston Police Shoot Alleged Gang Member In Possession Of Gun" »