Articles Posted in Bail

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Devin Joseph Sheehan-Powers of Boston was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury last week following his arrest for a July 15, 2009 incident. According to reports Sheehan-Powers was observed by Lynn Police chasing down a disabled man while brandishing a knife. Law enforcement officers saw Sheehan-Powers then punch the victim in the face and steal his cell phone. The attack was described as brutal. The officers who witnessed the incident chased the defendant and were able to apprehend him shortly after observing the crime. He was found in possession of the knife and crack cocaine. Bail in the case has been set at ten thousand dollars. The case will now be transferred from the Lynn District Court to the Salem Superior Court. Sheehan-Powers has formally been charged with armed robbery, possession of cocaine, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, aggravated assault and battery, mayhem and resisting arrest.

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Boston Man Charged With Assortment Of Violent Crimes, Drug Possession After Assault On Winthrop Man

The crime of mayhem in Massachusetts is proscribed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 14. The law states that the prosecution must prove that the defendant had the malicious intent to maim or disfigure the victim and that with that intent he “cuts out or maims the tongue, puts out or destroys an eye, cuts or tears off an ear, cuts, slits or mutilates the nose or lip, or cuts off or disables a limb or member, of another person”. Alternatively the prosecution can obtain a conviction for this crime if it proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, possessing the intent to “maim or disfigure, assaults another person with a dangerous weapon, substance or chemical, and by such assault disfigures, cripples or inflicts serious or permanent physical injury upon such person”. A conviction of this crime carries a potential twenty year state prison sentence. The article suggests that the prosecution in this case will be proceeding under the second theory given the victim needed eye surgery at a Boston hospital.

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This past Friday, after a four month investigation Joan Alberto Brea was arrested and charged with Trafficking Heroin, a School Zone Violation, and several Motor Vehicle Crimes. Brea, whose true identity has not been established is being held without bail. The investigation centered on drug dealing activities in the Mansfield Woods Condominiums. During the arrest police seized about eight thousand five hundred dollars worth of heroin, a quantity of about eighty five grams. No more information was given about the nature of the investigation.

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Heroin Bust In Mansfield, Massachusetts Leads To Seizure Of 85 Grams

In Massachusetts there is a substantial chance that a defendant will be held without bail in a Drug Trafficking Case such as this one. The defendant’s identity is not known by law enforcement. Nor for that matter is his address. There is a strong concern that he would default and never return to court if a bail were set that he could afford to post. Roots in the community coupled with a demonstration of stability and reasons to appear in court as ordered are factors that usually result in the imposition of an affordable bail. Obviously that is not the case here.

The absence of detail in this article suggests that this investigation is far from over. 85 grams of heroin is inconsequential given the length of this investigation and the number of law enforcement officers responsible for this case. For Brea however the stakes are high. He is facing a minimum mandatory seven year state prison sentence if convicted of trafficking and another mandatory two years on top of that if he is convicted of the school zone violation. There might be some defenses to this case. The fact that he was charged with Motor Vehicle Crimes suggests that he was driving at the time of his arrest. The police must show probable cause to stop, search and make the arrest. Given the depth of this investigation I would imagine that informant information played a role in the arrest as did surveillance efforts.

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On Labor Day three women were in a parking lot at a convenience store in Waltham, Massachusetts. At around 1:00 p.m. Christopher Gavilanes, a Somerville resident drove by them. While doing so he allegedly yelled out “hey ladies”. When they looked over Gavilanes was fondling himself. The women then called the police and provided them with Gavilanes’ license plate number. He was later arrested and charged with Open and Gross Lewdness. The case will be prosecuted in the Waltham District Court. Gavilanes was released on personal recognizance.

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Sex Crimes Charges For Somerville, Massachusetts Man Who Exposed Himself

Open and Gross Lewdness in Massachusetts is a felony in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 Section 16. The statute permits a sentence of up to three years in state prison after a conviction. Typically these cases are prosectued in the district courts where the maximum sentence permitted by statute is two years in the house of correction. Judges can continue these cases without a finding. When that disposition is imposed the defendant is spared the stigma of a felony conviction. The case will be dismissed as soon as the defendant completes the terms of probation, if any, that are set by the judge or probation department. If Galvines has no criminal record that is how this case might get resolved.

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Sean Dodd of Taunton, Massachusetts has been arrested and charged with Rape of a Child By Force. The victim is the daughter of his girlfriend with whom he lived. The prosecution alleges that the thirty one year old Dodd sexually abused and raped the girl over a three year period, beginning when she was twelve years old. When the victim was fifteen her boyfriend convinced her that what Dodd was doing was wrong. She then confronted him in an effort to end the abuse. She claimed that while doing so she was struck by Dodd. The police investigated the assault but were never informed about the sexual abuse. One of the victim’s friends’ apparenty told her the victim’s mother about the Rapes at which point Dodd was kicked out of the house. The victim’s mother has recently taken out a Restraining Order against Dodd. The case in now pending in the Taunton District Court but will probably be prosecuted for Rape in the Bristol County Superior Court in New Bedford.

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Taunton, Massachusetts Man Charged With Raping Girl Over Three Year Period

These cases are difficult to defend even under the best circumstances. A likely scenario is that there is no physical evidence linking Dodd to the crimes and that there are no eyewitnesses. The case will rest solely on the complaining witnesses’ testimony. How then can Dodd effectively rebut these accusations? It is tough because jurors often ask: “Why would the girl lie about something as heinous as this?” Perhaps Dodd will be able to show that the girl had a reason for lying. Maybe she sought attention from her mother or her boyfriend. Maybe she hated Dodd for reasons that do not implicate criminal conduct on his part. You can explore many of the reasons for false sexual abuse allegations by reading the Nichols Consulting Blog or Website. For Dodd the battle is just beginning.

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Prosecutors in Essex County Massachusetts say that Kimberly Mastronardi, a Marblehead resident stole over one half million dollars in a five year period from her employer. It is alleged that she did so by submitting false payroll records in her capacity of bookkeeper of a small plumbing company. Mastronardi’s employer got wind of this situation when earlier this year when vendors complained of not getting paid. Earlier this year police were alerted to the company’s suspicions. In March Mastronardi was arrested and charged for the criminal activity in the Lynn District Court. Bail has been set at five thousand dollars. This is not Mastronardi’s first brush with the law. In 1998 she was arrested on similar charges when an employer claimed that she stole approximately one hundred thousand dollars. She was also employed as a bookkeeper at that time. In 2002 the defendant was convicted of improper use of a credit card out of Salem.

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Massachusetts Woman With History Of Theft Accused Of Larceny From Employer

Given the amount of money stolen from the employer I would be surprised if the prosecution of this case remains in the district court. Usually district attorneys indict cases like this one and prosecuted the defendants in the Superior Court. This permits the prosecution to ask for more jail time after a conviction. It also gives a judge discretion to sentence to a county house of correction or state prison. It appears like this case will be indicted as a “larceny by scheme“, notwithstanding the fact that there were several larcenies associated with the defendant’s conduct. To be convicted of that crime the prosecution must prove that successive takings were “actuated by a single, continuing criminal impulse or intent or are pursuant to the execution of a general larcenous scheme, such successive takings constitute a single larceny, regardless of the extent of the time which may have elapsed between each taking.”

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The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office has charged Eric Lopez with Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under the Age of 14 and Unarmed Burglary. According to reports Lopez and the victim lived in the same apartment building. Lopez purportedly went into the victim’s bedroom, took offer her underwear and committed an offensive touching. Apparently the girls’ mother was not home during the incident but returned in time to see Lopez leaving the home. The case was reported to the police and Lopez is currently being prosecuted in the Quincy District Court. Bail has been set in the amount of twenty five thousand dollars.

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Quincy, Massachusetts Man Charged With Sex Crime, Breaking And Entering

Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under the Age of Fourteen is a felony pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13B. If the district attorney chooses to indict the case and prosecute it in the Superior Court a conviction can result in a ten year state prison sentence. If the case is kept in the District Court the maximum sentence is two and one half years in the House of Correction. If convicted of this crime Lopez will have to register with the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB). There are certain dispostions short of trial that might permit Lopez to avoid a conviction and the requirement of registering as a sex offender. The absence of a criminal history, victim credibility issues and good lawyering are factors that will weigh heavily in regard to the outcome of this case.

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John Monteiro of Randolph, Massachusetts has been charged with Carrying a Firearm, Second Offense, Assault With Intent to Commit Murder and related Violent Crimes. Authorities have alleged that Monteiro shot another man outside of an Ashland restaurant. The victim was treated at a local hospital. Monteiro is being held without bail pending a hearing on dangerousness in the Framingham District Court.

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Massachusetts Man Held Without Bail After Shooting Incident In Ashland

The Second Offense Firearm case is going to be difficult for Monteiro to defend absent an affirmative defense such as self-defense. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269 Section 10(d) states that anyone with a prior firearm possession conviction must serve a minimum mandatory five year state prison sentence if convicted of a like offense. Even if Monteiro disposed of the weapon prior to getting arrested the district attorney can prove this case through circumstantial evidence such as the victim’s bullet wound and the recovery of the expended projectile, shell casings and related firearms evidence. If however there are no independent witnesses and the victim decides not testify the prosecutor’s job becomes much more difficult. The article states that this is probably not a random act. If the victim and Monteiro were involved in a dispute involving illicit activities it would not surprise me to see the victim refuse to cooperate with authorities.

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Since February of this year police officers from Danvers and Salem along with Massachusetts State Police officers have been investigating leads that Rogers Arias has been dealing cocaine from his bright yellow Lexus. Yesterday after Arias allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover police officer he was arrested. According to reports the arrest of Arias is the first of several to come as a result of this ongoing investigation. Local police officers stated that they had received an anonymous call of suspicious activity involving a car fitting the description of Arias’ Lexus. Following this lead officers set up their operation and effectuated their arrest. It is reported that the defendant conducts his operations in Salem, Peabody and local malls. He is being held without bail pending his arraignment on charges of conspiracy, school zone violation, cocaine possession and distribution of cocaine. The case is pending in the Salem District Court. Arias also has cases pending in the Salem and Peabody courts.

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Danvers, Massachusetts Police Arrest Man On Drug Charges After Making Undercover Purchase

Although the article is unclear it appears that Arias is being held in anticipation of having his bail revoked pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276 Section 58. That law allows a court to revoke bail on a pending case for up to sixty days once a defendant gets arrested on another charge. The law requires the judge determine “that the release of said person will seriously endanger any person or the community and that the detention of the person is necessary to reasonably assure the safety of any person or the community”. Judges do not have to revoke bail in these situations however often times they do particularly where the person is accused of committing the same offense for which he has already been released on bail.

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Just the other day a joint drug task force executed a search warrant at 43 Union Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Present at the time were Santos Sanchez and Yasmin Torres. Sanchez had outstanding federal warrants in other jurisdictions. During the execution of the search warrant law enforcement personnel found twenty two grams of cocaine, fourteen rounds of ammunition, a nine millimeter firearm, over eight grams of marijuana, drug trafficking paraphernalia and prescription pills. Sanchez is being held on a half million dollar bail. Sanchez was charged with trafficking cocaine, a school zone violation, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and related drug charges. Yasmin Torres has been charged with the same crimes and was released on a low bail.

Drugs, Guns Found At Home Of Southbridge, Massachusetts Man

There are a multitude of defense strategies often associated with these types of cases. For one thing the validity of the search warrant can be challenged through a motion to suppress the search and seizure. If successful all of the items seized pursuant to the search warrant get suppressed and cannot be used as evidence against the defendants. Motions to dismiss work at times as well on cases such as this one. Where there is not telling whose substances these are and it is legally impossible for the district attorney to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt the case can get dismissed. Trying cases like this one can result in an acquittal also. An Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer will try to attribute the drugs to the other defendant, particularly if the cases are severed.

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A Home Invasion that took place in Westford, Massachusetts has resulted in the issuance of criminal charges against three Massachusetts men. According to reports the victims were supposedly drug dealers who were targeted due to their access to weapons and money associated with drug dealing activities. It is alleged that Daniel Cummins and Carlos Vega of Bedford tried to tie up one victim and duct tape another. Kamil Sylvain of Cambridge, Massachusetts has also been charged with this crime. Cummins brother Christopher was arrested in connection with this case on May 15th of this year. The charges now pending in the Ayer District Court are Home Invasion, Assault and Battery and Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon. All defendants are being held on bail pending a hearing on dangerousness.

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Massachusetts Men Charged With Home Invasion To Be Prosecuted In Woburn Superior Court

Quite often these cases are not as clear cut as the police reports seem to suggest. A typical scenario involving a dubious home invasion claim occurs when a drug deal goes bad. In that situation the “victim” calls the police and makes a report claiming that the defendants broke into his home, assaulted him, committed various acts of violence and made certain threats. Obviously the caller never reports that all parties were involved in drug transactions or other illicit activities. Nor does the caller admit that the assaultive conduct was a mutual undertaking and that he came out on the losing end of the battle. Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyers are quick to see what actually happened and use this to their advantage in defending their clients.

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