Marblehead Massachusetts is not normally thought of as the assault capital of the Commonwealth. Neither is Swampscott for that matter. However, one week ago today, there was an explosion of violence between kids from these towns…complete with dangerous weapons.
Now, we are not talking Boston here, so the weapons are not uzis or other types of firearms. They included primarily baseball bats, pipes and chains.
I am told by one high school juvenile that the fight had actually been scheduled to take place outside the Marblehead High School. However, authorities learned about it before it had a chance to commence and made the kids leave.
The ignited spark of anger was not extinguished by the change in venue, however. It simply moved to a regularly quiet residential street. And then…boom!
The cause of the fight? I am told that a young gentleman of one town made some passes at a young lady of the other town. Unfortunately, said lass had a boyfriend from her own town.
The press coverage of this has not been great. If not for the fact that I live in the area, I might not never have found out about the brawl.
There is a video of the event on the web page listed below. Part of the description was apparently one of those present. I will leave the more vivid description to that person’s posted words:
Shit just got real in the hood motherfucker! Jets vs. Sharks for real. Pipes and bats and shit. Blood in the streets. People getting carried out in stretchers. That’s how we do in the barrio. Straight gangsta living. Big Blue vs. Marblehead. Bloods vs. Crips. Doesn’t get any more real than that son. I just thank my lucky stars everyday that I kept my head down, stayed out trouble and made it out of there alive. Wasn’t easy though. Hard knock life will wear you down.
And so, we have another example of how such a “hard knock life”, in Marblehead no less, will “wear you down”.
I am told, however, that by the time the kids were scattered, there were hospitalizations and a great deal of blood at the scene of the violence.
Over my many years as an experienced criminal defense attorney, I have handled various criminal matters around the Commonwealth. Yes, this would include the North Shore towns of Swampscott and Marblehead. However, violence to this extent is not typical there.
On the other hand, times are indeed changing. I have watched as the nature of crime in the Commonwealth has taken on some of the characteristics that I observed as a prosecutor in New York. As that happens, what exists in the cities tends to move out to the suburbs.
Is this a coming trend? Please be assured that law enforcement will do what they can to prevent the growth of such things. So will prosecutors and judges. This generally means a “no tolerance” policy which sometimes spells out tougher sentences on the young defendants than one would expect.
Any such criminal action which brings a juvenile to an arraignment will likely have drastic repercussions on his or her future.
If it ever was, it is no longer a joke. Just Kids” is not much of a defense these days.
What is?
That depends. The best person to answer that would be an experienced criminal defense attorney acquainted with the given case.. If you or your child are looking at criminal allegations, do not assume that if you just cooperate with the prosecution all will be well. Get protection. Get an experienced criminal defense attorney to guide and defend you and yours.
We all want to end violence, particularly when it comes to kids. But you may not want to aid the cause by sacrificing your child to it as an “example”..
If you want to discuss such a case with me, feel free to call me for a free initial consultation. I can be reached at t 617-492-3000.
To view the original story, and charming photograph about which parts of this blog were based, please go to : http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/marblehead-vs-swampscott-rivalry-escalates-to-gigantic-street-brawl/