Hector Ortiz of Framingham, Massachusetts had been dating a woman who lived on Edgell Road until a few weeks ago when she broke up with him. She quickly became involved with someone else. Jealous and scorned, Ortiz concocted a plan to exact his revenge. This past Friday Ortiz followed the woman and her new boyfriend to a local restaurant. He then followed the two to the woman’s home and tried to force his way inside. The woman then went to the police station to make a report. While at the station, based on a tip from Ortiz the police found cocaine tucked into the woman’s gas cap. Both she and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine.
The woman then told the police a story that gave them concern. She claimed that a couple of weeks back, after she and Ortiz broke up, Ortiz went to her apartment and spent the night. The next day she woke up to find Ortiz on top of her attempting to rape her. The woman yelled. Ortiz ran off, supposedly with her cell phone. She never reported the incident until after the drug arrest.
The Framingham Police interviewed Ortiz. He admitted to placing the drugs in the gas cap. He stated that he wanted to get the new boyfriend in trouble but that his plan failed when the woman was also arrested. Ortiz has been charged with several crimes in the Framingham District Court; specifically, Civil Rights Violation, Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, a Class B Substance, Indecent Assault and Battery, Intimidation of a Witness, Stalking, Assault With the Intent to Commit Rape, Filing a False Police Report and Threatening to Commit a Crime. Charges against the woman and her new boyfriend were dropped however the boyfriend was held on in ICE detainer.
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Massachusetts Drug Crimes Lawyer
While the drug case seems to be an easy one for the district attorney the Attempted Rape matter might be more difficult to prove. Here is why. Jurors are going to question why this woman would allow her ex-boyfriend to spend the night in her home particularly where she had just become involved with another man. Jurors will also question the delayed disclosure of the alleged incident. The timing of the disclosure of the Sexual Assault is also suspect. It comes after the woman was charged with violating the controlled substances act. This suggests to jurors a motive for the woman to fabricate this story. Or perhaps her new boyfriend found out that Ortiz spent the night with her and she felt compelled to come up with this story to preserve her relationship.
Jurors are always charged with an instruction on the credibility of witnesses. Jurors are told that they can believe all, some or none of what a witness says in court. Jurors are instructed to use their common sense in evaluating the credibility of a witness. Jurors are to consider whether there exists a motive for testifying in a certain way or whether the witness might have hostility towards the defendant. In this case, one of the things Ortiz’s Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer will focus on is the woman’s credibility in view of her late disclosure of the Sex Crime and her motive for making that revelation when she did.
Attorney Stephen Neyman has been defending people accused of committing Sex Crimes in Massachusetts for over twenty years. Call our office now to discuss your criminal case. You can reach us at 617-263-6800 or by email us.