Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

Now, given my sardonic view on things, it would not surprise you to check out this once-again daily blog one day to find me describing a scene wherein somebody was speeding down the road and, having run down an innocent pedestrian, got out of his car and started pulling on the semi-flattened gentleman, begging him to get up.

Perhaps, I might even compare the driver in such a situation to a child who, after having committed some damage, asks for a “Do-over”.

Of course, you would expect that, by the time the blog was over, you would have heard about the driver being arrested for a myriad of charges, not to mention some kind of vehicular homicide.

Well, guess what?

Such an occurrence actually happened last week...with one twist.

The driver was a police officer.

Continue reading "A Boston Criminal Attorney Wonders If A Police Cruiser Hitting And Killing In A Pedestrian With An SUV Is Vehicular Homicide" »

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" »

Former Massachusetts Turnpike chairman Matthew Amorello (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) has fallen into ever-deepening holes of trouble on the criminal justice battlefield. First, he was arrested for drunk driving this past weekend. Well, not really just drunk driving. There are apparently other charges levied after he allegedly smashed into parked cars and tried to flee the scene despite the fact that one of his tires was off.

After a night of what the authorities call “sleeping it off” at the station, the Defendant was told he had to attend his arraignment in Haverhill court yesterday.

He didn’t.

And so it was that a Haverhill District Court Judge issued a default warrant for the man who once oversaw one of the largest public works projects in the state's history...the Big Dig.

Continue reading "Former Big Dig Bigwig Faces Allegations Of OUI, Leaving The Scene And A Default Warrant" »

Crime, itsel, is not particularly seasonal. It happens all the time in the Boston area. However, through my years as a Boston criminal defense attorney, I have noted that certain crimes seem to occur more often during certain seasons. Summer is a season where there is often a spike in certain crimes, for example.

The Rock star "Meatloaf" once began a hit song with the line, "On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?" After various lines seemingly meant to understand the original question, the answer was "Yes".

The image of hot summer nights is often used to portray passonate and, often, violent, occurences.

This is not limited to music or fiction.

We often see what might otherwise be verbal arguments escalate into physical altercations. Maybe it is the heat that makes tempers more flammable. For example, on Saturday, I wrote about a woman who was shot by police after she allegedly assaulted them with a knife. This was, of course, after she had assaulted someone else at home with the knife. This ended tragically…the police shot and killed her.

This is also a story which may bear a closer look this week, by the way.

Continue reading "Summer crimes – Disorderly conduct, assault and battery, drunk driving…. a criminal attorney’s view." »

Jaime Collazo and Christopher Colecchi have been arrested and arraigned in a Massachusetts criminal case involving a stolen car that had two sleeping children in it. The alleged car theft and kidnapping are said to have occurred early on the morning of July 12. The two Worcester men are accused of stealing a 2002 Toyota Sienna from outside a Gulf gas station while its driver was in the station.

Police were contacted and within minutes an officer found the car parked at the corner of Lafayette and Scott. The children were still in the vehicle and hadn’t been harmed.

Following a foot chase, Collazo was arrested and charged with Massachusetts kidnapping and trespassing. He is accused of forcing his way into the building where police found him.

Meantime, Colecchi, who is accused of then stealing another car, was pursued by cops on the I-290 first in cars and then on foot after he crashed the vehicle. Colecchi is charged with two counts of kidnapping, operating a vehicle as to endanger, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, and possession of Class B substance. His criminal defense lawyer told the Telegram that the 36-year-old man is being overcharged. He says that whoever took the first car got out at once upon discovering that there were children inside the vehicle.

Van Stolen With Sleeping Children Inside, WCVB, July 13, 2010

Two suspects arrested for kidnapping, Telegram.com, July 12, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Crimes against the Person, General Laws of Massachusetts

Continue reading "Two Worcester Men Accused of Stealing Car Charged with Massachusetts Kidnapping" »

Yesterday, as you may have read through various print and other media outlets, I had occasion to drive to North Adams, Massachusetts on a new case. As I traveled the various hours, I was reminded again and again through the radio how I was actually taking my life in my hands. This has not been a great summer so far for driving safely. The only thing that seemed to make the odds in my favor for arriving in court and then at my office in Cambridge was the fact that I was not a member of any police force.

There have been a number of incidents where officers have been struck by civilian drivers over the past month. The latest example to grace the headlines was Mathew C., 24, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). On Saturday morning, he allegedly rear-ended a state police cruiser in a highway breakdown lane. He is said to have had a blood-alcohol level over twice the legal limit. Police also claim that he admitted at the scene to having had “too much” to drink.

I guess that would seemgly slam the lid shut for a prosecution for, among other things, drunk driving.

This was the fifth such crash in recent weeks. This time, the police say, the driver didn't brake at all before slamming his car into the cruiser.

Continue reading "A Boston Criminal Lawyer Wonders How Latest Drunk Driving Accident Will Effect Law" »

A judge has ordered 29-year-old man facing numerous charges for his involvement in a 20-mile police pursuit on the Massachusetts Pike to Bridgewater State Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Alejandro Serra has pleaded not guilty to over a dozen charges, including five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and operating with a suspended license.

Serra is accused of threatening and almost running down a man and his young grandson in Boston on Monday. The adult pedestrian had asked Serra to turn down the music that was blaring from his vehicle.

After Serra fled the scene, he was pursued by state police in a chase that continued onto the Massachusetts Pike until his vehicle crashed into three police cruisers in Framingham. Serra then tried to flee from the authorities on foot. At least 10 troopers were involved in efforts to apprehend him. Video footage shows one state trooper punching him.

A forensic psychologist for the court who evaluated Serra to see if he was competent to face charges says that the suspect is delusional, out of touch with reality, and may be a danger to society. At the end of his arraignment, Serra announced to the court that he was Pope Alexander.

Prosecutors say that he has had history of mental health problems and has been committed to psychiatric hospitals in the past. The state committed him to one in 2008.

Serra is being held on $5,000 cash bail for the altercation on Monday and another $5,000 for failing to obey a warrant that required that he show up at the Mental Health Division on June 23. Serra’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer says that his client clearly needs help.

Man charged after leading staties on wild Pike chase, Boston Herald, June 29, 2010

Driver In Mass Pike Chase: 'I Am Pope Alexander!', WBZTV, June 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Mass Law About Traffic Violations
MassDot Highway Division

Continue reading "Psychiatrist Says Driver Charged in Massachusetts Pike Car Chase is Delusional" »

Just to show you that the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog is not only focusing on kids these days and their foibles, such as attempted murder, we discuss today a slightly older gentleman in need of counsel…lots of it.

The gentleman, Michael G., 31 (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) hails from Salem and was arrested in Swampscott for operating under the influence as well as one or five other charges. He was apparently not charged for other, somewhat unusual items of interest in his car.

The Defendant was brought to the Lynn District Court where he was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, drinking alcohol from an open container in a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation and following too closely.

Swampscott police had been alerted to the Defendant, who is a student at Wentworth in Boston, as he sped by on New Ocean Street around 3:30 a.m. April 30.

As the police followed him, the Defendant is said to have been weaving all over the road and tailgating another vehicle, before he was pulled over on Paradise Road.

Continue reading "The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog Reveals A North Of Boston Drunk Driving Matter With A Twist" »

Tempers sure are flaring now that it is known that no serious injuries resulted from the collision between a Green Line MBTA train smashed into a jeep! Transit officials are crying “Foul!” against the athletes who had been in the jeep. Crimina-Defense-Attorne- Needing-type-Foul.

The crash took place this past Sunday around midnight as a Green Line trolley driver, traveling about 30 miles per hour, was heading westbound en route to stop at Greycliff Road and Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton. Yards from the Greycliff Road crossing, the driver says he noticed a black Jeep Cherokee at the intersection at Commonwealth Avenue.

According to an MBTA transit police report, the driver sounded the horn five times and then engaged the emergency stop. The jeep's driver cut in front of the train as if attempting to make a U-turn onto Commonwealth.

WHAM!

The trolley struck the side of the Jeep, pushing it back onto Commonwealth Avenue. When the jeep stopped, according to the report, some of the its occupants got out, grabbed items that appeared to be alcoholic beverages, and then fled down Greycliff Road.

Continue reading "T-Crash May Result In Alcohol Related Charges For Boston College Students" »

One moment. One very bad moment following a very bad decision. Boston criminal defense attorneys see it every day.

That's all it takes to ruin, or even end, innocent lives....as well as guilty ones.

It is a lesson that we witness played out on the Commonwealth streets this past Monday. Now, here are two similar stories to show it is a lesson that is still being learned quite late.

Let’s take the case of Jonathan C. , 19, of Saugus (hereinafter, "Defendant1") for example.

Defendant 1 spent a very painful day in Lynn District Court this past week. He is now spending time in Commonwealth housing.

Defendant 1 pleaded guilty in a vehicular homicide matter which had caused the death of one woman and severely injured another. In open court, he apologized to the family on the other side of the tragedy, explaining, “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of it.’’

Continue reading "A Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer's take on Vehicular Homicide And Very Bad Moments" »

Well, this week has not been particularly good on the streets of Massachusetts. At least three deaths in two days alone! Lots of fodder for lawyers.

“Well, of course not, Sam”, you tell me. It was raining to almost biblical proportions!”

Yes, well that ended on Monday. It’s been kind of sunny the rest of the week, which is when the deaths occurred.

For example, Bruce F., 46 of Salisbury (hereinafter, “Fatality #1”) was fatally injured when he was hit by a car after stepping into the right lane on Route 95 South in Newbury at about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Continue reading "Attorney Sam's Take: Three Deaths On Massachusetts Streets In 48 Hours" »

Yesterday, I had to go to a local Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Now, I am a lawyer. I have some idea of how some of these things should work. I am also somewhat knowledgeable about the system, bureaucracy and red tape, including how simple things can be made very unsimple. The result? I walked out about 2 hours later (the ticket I was handed said I would be seen in 8 minutes) and with my goal still not reached. Not only that, but this inconvenience resulted in the first time I saw the clerk perform what I took to beng the closest she ever came to a smile.

What can one do? Well, today I can take the small step of delivering a blog about the RMV!

Well, sort of.

I direct your attention to Framingham, where sits a Middlesex grand jury which has returned indictments recently against Mr. Ahmed S., 30, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). He had been arrested a month earlier due to an investigation which apparently revealed that he was falsifying drivers' licenses, the AG's office said.

Continue reading "Boston Attorney General Indicts RMV Clerk For White Collar Crimes" »

Did you know that the Boston Criminal Law Blog is the number one read criminal law blog in Massachusetts? Thanks for that, by the way. Well, it looks like we need to tell our neighbors in Rhode Island about it too. After all, I began this week warning you about keeping your cool during…heated…situations.

I meant outside as well as inside.

Nevertheless, one day after I posted the blog, a Rhode Island woman allegedly threw her coffee onto a meter maid who was ticketing her car in Brookline.

Krystle C., 23, of Rhode Island (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) has been arraigned in Brookline District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a public employee. She was released on personal recognizance (no bail) and a further hearing was scheduled for April 5th.

Yes, the dangerous weapon was the coffee.

Continue reading "Boston-Area Parking Violation Results In Felony Assault With Weapon Charge" »

Today, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog points out that there really can be “heroes” as well as “villains” in today’s modern, if not skeptical, age.

It seems to also be a story of a suspect's alleged consistency.

It was this past Monday. It began when a 34-year-old woman parked her Acura SUV at the Dock Square garage in the North End. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a burly man appeared at her door, speaking calmly and matter-of-factly.

“I need your car, I need your keys,’’ he said.

When she saw the gun in her hand, she knew it was not simply an unlucky gentleman who simply needed an emergency ride to, say, deliver a baby.

He simply wanted to deliver the car...to himself

Continue reading "Assault, License Loss And OUI Charges Apparently Not Enough For Alleged Armed Carjacker" »

Well, it has been awhile since the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog covered one of these.

It just goes to show that with all the mkhigh profile cases like those of a certain never-to-be-tenured professor's alleged homicides, the Kerrigan family woes and assorted homicides we have been discussing lately, poor judgment is also demonstrated in the actual streets of the Commonwealth ...just like always.

Today’s tale hails from Framingham.

It was Saturday night when Herman H., 23 of Framingham (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was found hiding under a car in a garage and arrested.

You see, according to law enforcement, the Defendant had been witnessed going the wrong way on a local one-way-street. So, the police, doing what they do, followed him until he finally stopped.

Next, the police approached the Defendant’s vehicle. Again, it is what they do.

But, the Defendant then allegedly did what one is absolutely not supposed to do. He drove off.

He finally stopped. Good move.

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Continue reading "Massachusetts Vehicular Crimes Increase Penalties During Police Car Chases – Take It From A Boston Defense Attorney" »

For the last two days, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog looked at two recent matters wherein Massachusetts defendants were stopped by law enforcement in their vehicles, wherein drugs were found. During the investigations, sometimes more drugs were found at various locations…sometimes it was a href="http://criminal.altmanllp.com/lawyer-attorney-1452603.html">weapons.

Rest assured that while the police and courts treat drug possession and gun possession very seriously…the combination is extremely eye-opening to them. It is the stuff that headlines are made of.

In any event, one last issue remains unexamined. In the Marblehead matter, additional material was found in the defendant’s home.

The question arises whether we are less protected in our homes or our automobiles from police invasion into our privacy in terms of search and siezure.

This is what today’s posting, ending this three-part-series will address.

Continue reading "The Search And Seizure Of Two Massachusetts Drug Suspects (Part Three)" »

Yesterday, we began our examination of the arrest and sentencing of a Geraldo S., 32 of Marblehead (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He recently pled guilty in a Massachusetts superior court and received a ten year sentence. We were looking at the story from a search and seizure angle.

We left off when it came time to explain the search of Defendant1’s vehicle.

As you may recall, Defendant1’s arrest took place back in 2004. To show you things have not changed very much, let’s turn the clock forward to this very weekend. On Saturday, Henry T., 21, (hereinafter, “Defendant2”) of Randolph was blessed with similar police attention.

Braintree police say that Defendant2 had been driving without his headlights on early Saturday morning. They checked their computer to get information on the vehicle and found that Defendant2’s license had been suspended.
That’s a crime in the Commonwealth.

Continue reading "The Search And Seizure Of Two Massachusetts Drug Suspects (Part Two)" »

While the rest of us were celebrating freedoms that are the legacy of heroes like the late Dr. Martin Luther King yesterday, one gentleman from the North of Boston was adjusting to the trade of his need of a defense attorney for a ten year term of imprisonment in Massachusetts prison.

Of course, he has already served approximately six of those years awaiting trial.

Geraldo S., 32, of Marblehead (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was found to be in possession of a kilo of cocaine after a traffic stop in 2004. On Friday, he pled guilty to the reduced charge of trafficking over 100 grams of cocaine . This was the result of a plea bargain with the prosecution. Had a deal not been struck, the court would have had no choice but to sentence him to at least fifteen years in the event of a conviction.

Key to the plea bargain was a confession made to law enforcement.

The Defendant’s most recent criminal justice woes were the result of an investigation by the Marblehead police. Part of the investigation involved the fact that, apparently, the Defendant was known by several different names.

Continue reading "The Search And Seizure Of A Marblehead Drug Suspect (Part One)" »

Today we discuss yet another tale wherein Massachusetts law enforcement officials are in need of a criminal defense attorney. It involves recent accusations against four such officers and an event arising out of a suspected racially motivated apprehension from this past November.

Well, it is not so much the fact of the apprehension that has raised suspicion, but the method of it. You see, Melvin J. (hereinafter, the “Passenger”) was a guest in a particular motor vehicle that police stopped. While not the driver, police say he acted suspiciously. So, the officers ordered him to get out of the car. He did as ordered…and kept going. He ran away from the scene.

The officers, apparently having lost interest in the driver of the car and whatever traffic violation they thought they had witnessed, chased after him. They say that when they chased him, he violently resisted and tried to grab one officer's gun.

That’s a big “no-no” for law enforcement. It does, however, seem to give a perceived license for officers to do things they otherwise wouldn’t.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Traffic Stop Becomes Fourth Assault And Battery Claim Against One Police Officer" »

You are driving around on a wintery Massachusetts night, maybe after a couple of drinks that you are sure did not effect you. All of a sudden there is a large bumping feeling and a sound that tells you that you have hit something. The temptation is to put the problem, whatever it may be, behind you and to get out of there fast. You think that to do otherwise is foolhardy and could cost you your license and the need to hire one of those criminal defense attorneys.

Avoid that temptation. The fact is that leaving the scene of an accident, whether physical injury to a person or simply property damage was caused, only makes a bad situation worse.

Let’s look at a couple of very recent examples.

17-year old Sandwich teen, Sarah G. (hereinafter, “:Teen Defendant”) began the new year after collecting a bunch of charges that were only made worse by leaving the scene. She is drove into the rear of a police cruiser. She then apparently tried to leave the scene but was apprehended shortly thereafter. She is now facing charges which include leaving the scene of an accident, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to stop for police and underage alcohol possession, according to the Cape Cod Times.

Continue reading "Leaving The Scene Of An Accident In Massachusetts Brings The Need Of An Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney For Firefighter And Student" »