Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
In Cambridge District Court last week, Arlington resident Michael Whalen pled not guilty to kidnapping, threats, and receiving stolen property over $250. A statewide Amber Alert had been issued in Massachusetts on Wednesday after Whalen’s six-month-old son Lucas disappeared.
The baby’s disappearance happened after a Massachusetts Probate and Family Court judge awarded custody of Lucas to his aunt, Sheila Boyle, who cited concern over the baby’s well-being as reason for the custody request. When Boyle went to retrieve the baby, he was gone.
A Massachusetts prosecutor said that Michael, 42, had threatened to kill Lucas, shoot five people, and commit suicide if anyone tried to take his son. A SWAT team arrested him on Thursday after his rental car was discovered at a Burlington hotel parking lot. Because the car was overdue, he was charged with receiving stolen property.
Lucas was found with Danielle Boyle, who is the baby’s mother and Michael’s girlfriend. A cab driver took Danielle and Lucas to the Arlington police station because she did not have money to pay for her taxi ride. She has not been charged with committing a crime.
Michael’s lawyer says no one saw baby Lucas with his father after he disappeared. In Massachusetts, a parental kidnapping conviction comes with a maximum sentence of one year in the house of corrections.
According to the DSS, the couple has two other children that were put up for adoption after the parents’ legal rights were terminated.
Michael was ordered held on $25,000 bond. He has 72 prior criminal convictions-many of them for minor traffic violations.
Infant’s father charged after Amber Alert set off, Boston.com, May 2, 2008
Prosecutor: Arlington father threatened to kill 6-month-old son in rampage, May 1, 2008
Related Web Resource:
Amber Alert
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