Articles Posted in Bail

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Robert Demaio is twenty nine years old and homeless. He admittedly has problems with alcohol and anger management. Last Friday Demaio beat up another man in a Beverly, Massachusetts park causing him to suffer sever brain damage. The victim is a fifty one year old Lynn, Massachusetts man who authorities say is likely to die from the injuries he suffered in the beating. Demaio has been charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury. The criminal case is currently pending in the Salem District Court. Bail has been set in the amount of $100,000. When the police encountered Demaio they observed his hand to be swollen, consistent with having punched someone.

Assault And Battery Charges Filed Against Homeless Man Who Beat 51 Year Old

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13A makes assault and battery a crime in Massachusetts. The law states that anyone who commits this crime and causes serious bodily injury while doing so is guilty of aggravated assault and battery. A conviction of this offense can result in up to five years in state prison. However, if the victim dies from the injuries Demaio is likely to face more serious charges such as manslaughter or even murder. If the injuries to the victim are as serious as reported I would not be surprised to see this case indicted to the Superior Court in Essex County. Given that Demaio has a history of violence a superior court prosecution is a likely scenario.

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In 2004 around 6:00 p.m. Malden, Massachusetts police responded to a call for a woman bleeding. Officers arrived to find the victim in her bed and suffering from facial injuries. It was clear to police that the home had been broken into through a rear door. The man who broke in assaulted and beat the elderly victim who was taken to the hospital. This past Saturday, as a result of a DNA match, Jason Kuzcynski was arrested and charged with home invasion and assault and battery on a person over the age of sixty five. Kuzcynski is being held without bail pending a hearing on dangerousness.

Massachusetts Man Charged With 2004 Home Invasion

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 18C defines the crime of home invasion in Massachusetts. The law states that anyone who is armed and enters the home of another person knowing or having reason to know that someone is home and uses force on that person is guilty of home invasion. There is a minimum state prison sentence of twenty years for anyone convicted of this crime. The crime of assault and battery on a person sixty or older carries a ten year state prison sentence. With an elderly victim it is likely that the district attorney in this case will not agree to a plea bargain that falls below the twenty year mandatory sentence.

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Boston, Massachusetts police officers were just doing their job. They saw occupants of two cars engaged in a verbal dispute. The officers went over to settle the parties down. As they did one of four people riding in a Honda pulled out a firearm and shot at the officers. One officer fired back hitting the car. Other officer went into the car to apprehend the suspect. That man, John Mentor, now stands charged with assault with intent to murder. The defendant’s lawyer claimed that the officers fired several shots, a claim that has been denied by the Boston Police Department. The case is currently in the West Roxbury District Court pending indictment. Bail has been set at $500,000.

Man Charged With After Trying To Shoot Boston Police Officer

There is virtually no chance that this case will remain in the district court even though both the district court and the superior court have jurisdiction over these charges. Prosecutors view gun cases, particularly those where the weapon is discharged as extremely serious. Shooting at police officers compounds matters for this defendant. I will bet that the district attorney’s office will recommend at least a ten year state prison sentence for this defendant. If a judge agrees that that length sentence is warranted the defendant will either have to take the offer or try the case. It appears that defense counsel in this case has suggested that self-defense might be raised. Ballistics evidence at the crime scene and an examination of the police officers’ firearms will partially determine the viability of that defense.

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David Dunbar is a level three sex offender according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. He was convicted in 2000 of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of fourteen. He has recently been living in a homeless shelter in Quincy. Just the other day however Dunbar removed the screen on a woman’s apartment entered the apartment and purportedly committed some additional serious crimes. He is now facing charges in the Quincy District Court for assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction to property and home invasion. He is being held on $350,000 bail.

Read Article, Boston Herald, April 7, 2009

The home invasion charge is the most serious crime that Dunbar is accused of committing. It is a violent crime proscribed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 18C. To be convicted of this crime the district attorney must prove that the defendant broke into someone’s home, knowing or having reason to know that they were home, while armed with a dangerous weapon and having used force or threats on the home’s occupant. A conviction of home invasion carries a twenty year minimum state prison sentence. The article stated that Dunbar was carrying a box cutter when he entered the home. That is sufficient to satisfy the element of “dangerous weapon”.

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Andrew Yuen was working the counter at Holbrook Liquors Friday night when a man came who in wearing a ski mask started demanding lottery tickets. Yuen raised his hands in submission and invited the man behind the counter to take the money from the register. Yuen then seized an opportunity to push the gun away and with the help of another store employee subdued the man and called the police. Police officers arrived and arrested Richard Hall of Holbrook. Hall was a regular at the store and had been there four hours earlier that evening. Authorities charged Hall with armed robbery while masked, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, armed assault with the intent to rob and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Bail was set at five thousand dollars cash in the Quincy District Court.

Read Article: Liquor store employees subdue robber

The crime of armed robbery in Massachusetts is governed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 17. A conviction of armed robbery carries a potential life sentence. If however the person who committed the crime was masked there is a minimum five year state prison sentence that must be imposed.

Defending this case will be a difficult undertaking. The report makes clear that in addition to the two store employees there were two girls at the counter whom Yuen was assisting when Hall entered the store. If their version of the events supports that of the store employees Hall’s chance of success after trial is minimal at best. Look for him to enter into some sort of plea bargain where he might be able to get around the five year minimum sentence he now faces.

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Several weeks ago DEA and Andover, Massachusetts police received information from a source that Jay Keough and Ryan Emmet were cooking up methamphetamine at Keough’s parents’ home on Lowell Street in Andover. Apparently Keough and Emmett had been buying cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine from drug stores in the Merrimack Valley towns of Andover, Methuen, North Andover, Lawrence and Haverhill. Various “cooking” techniques break the medicine down into ephedrine which in turn is used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine or “crystal meth”. According to reports Keough manufactured the substance every 4-5 days in a first floor room that was locked, chained and guarded by a Rottweiller. Both Keough and Emmet were charged in federal court with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Both men are being detained pending a hearing.

Read Article: Massachusetts Men Caught In Their Andover Meth Lab Charged In Federal Court

Both defendants have been charged with a violation of 21 U.S.C. Section 846 and 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a)(1). 21 U.S.C. 846 makes it a crime to conspire to violate any of the laws of the drug abuse prevention and control act. 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) makes it a crime to manufacture, distribute or possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. Methamphetamine is a controlled substance in accordance with Schedule II of the act. If convicted on these charges, Keough and Emmet each face up to 20 years imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $ 1,000,000 fine.

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The Lowell Sun reported that a forty one year old Dracut, Massachusetts man has been charged with assault with intent to commit murder, assault and battery, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon after he supposedly stabbed his wife nine times with a large butcher knife in front of their two young children. According to the article the victim had recently moved out of the couple’s home with their children. The children were visiting with him and around 5:30 the victim went back to the house to pick them up. After a brief discussion the defendant threw the woman down on the ground, stabbed her with a butcher knife and threatened to kill her. The children ran to a neighbor’s house. The neighbor returned and pulled the defendant off of the woman. A district court held the defendant without bail pending a dangerousness hearing and a competency hearing. Charges are pending in the Lowell District Court.

Read Article: Lowell, Massachusetts Man Held In Domestic Violence Incident

Competence to stand trial in Massachusetts is governed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 123 Section 15. The law states that at any time a judge may order an evaluation to determine whether a person is competent to stand trial. If possible, the examination is to be conducted at the courthouse or where the person his being held. After the examination, the judge may order the person committed to the Bridgewater State Hospital for a period of up to twenty days. The treating personnel at the hospital may request an additional twenty days, or up to forty days for observation and further examination. If the person is found competent the case will resume its schedule. If not, then the case is continued until the person becomes competent.

Competency evaluations are used primarily when people engage in irrational acts or behave in ways that are uncharacteristic. In this case it appears that the defendant “flipped out” possibly due to the deterioration of his marital situation. In almost every case a person is ultimately found to be competent. It may take several months or in rare instances years but trial or a resolution of the case is almost always inevitable.

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Eric Sideri owns Angela’s Coal Fired Pizza in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. On Saturday night he and his manager Al Guevara pistol whipped and beat an employee Sideri believed stole twenty thousand dollars from the business. According to reports Sideri left the business sometime Saturday night seemingly in a bad mood. Guevara, who manages another one of Sideri’s stores came into the establishment. Shortly after the business closed Guevara told the cleaning crew to leave the property. Guevara started to count the evening’s take when Sideri re-arrived and began accusing the victim of taking his money. Sideri then proceeded to beat the victim with the bat. Sideri then tied the victim’s hands behind his back, withdrew two guns and threatened to blow his brains out. Sideri then stuck the larger of the two guns in the employee’s mouth and threatened to kill him. Sideri and Guevara then allowed the victim to leave the store. The victim called the police and his girlfriend and went to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. Sideri was arrested at his home. A warrant has been issued for Guevara’s arrest. Sideri has been charged in the Lowell Distict Court with three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, threatening to commit the crime of murder, larceny of a motor vehicle and kidnapping.

Read Article: Pizza Restaurant Owner Charged With Kidnapping, A & B Dangerous Weapon

In the context of this case the most serious charges are the kidnapping and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Kidnapping is prohibited by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 26. The maximum sentence after conviction is ten years in state prison unless a firearm was used in the commission of the offense or serious bodily injury resulted. Since no firearm was recovered it is impossible to prove the enhancement provision of this statute. Serious bodily injury is defined as “bodily injury which results in a permanent disfigurement, protracted loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ or substantial risk of death.” It does not appear that that provision is implicated in this case either. Assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon is a crime pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 15A. This too is punishable by up to ten years in state prison unless aggravating circumstances accompany the act. That is not the case here.

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Amesbury, Massachusetts police had their work cut out for them early Saturday morning when they stopped a 2002 Pontiac sedan operating erratically on Route 110. When Officer David Noyes activated his lights the car’s four occupants started behaving strangely. When he contacted the driver he noticed the smell of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle. Noyes quickly learned that the driver had a warrant out of the Newburyport District Court for an OUI conviction and that he was operating on a revoked driver’s license. The passengers had become unruly and Noyes called for assistance. The responding officers patted down the passengers and conducted a search of the car. During the search the police located a loaded semi-automatic firearm. A small bag of cocaine was found on one of the passengers and two additional bags were located in the car. All four had criminal records including cocaine distribution, larceny of a motor vehicle, robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon. Three of the subjects had pending criminal cases in other courts.

As a result of this incident several charges were filed in the Newburyport District Court including carrying a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of cocaine, OUI second offense, driving with a revoked license, open container violation and minor in possession of alcohol. Bail for each was set at $25,000 pending arraignment.

Read Article: Boston Men Charged With Drug, Gun Violations, OUI Second After Routine Traffic Stop

Of all the charges these guys are facing the most serious is the gun possession charge. In Massachusetts possession of a firearm is proscribed by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter Section 10. The law states that anyone who carries a firearm without being properly licensed to do so is guilty of a felony. There is a mandatory minimum eighteen month sentence that you must serve if you are convicted of this crime. The firearm charges in this case might be very difficult for the prosecution to prove. All four defendants are charged with possessing the gun. This is because the police were unable to determine who actually possessed the weapon. While there can be a joint venture theory used by the prosecution to attribute possession to all defendants the likelihood of getting convictions of this basis is slim.

Recently in Essex County the district attorney’s office has been fingerprinting firearms in cases such as this. If the prints match up to one of the occupants in the car a conviction against that person becomes more likely. Essex County has a gun court now held in Peabody. This might be where this case is ultimately prosecuted.

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Stephanie Lighten and Jennifer Lighten are married. They live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Last Tuesday in the late afternoon police responded to a call at the couple’s home. Jennifer Lighten told police that her wife Stephanie tried to forcibly inseminate her with a turkey baster and her brother’s semen. According to reports Stephanie threw Jennifer on the couch, grabbed at her clothing and threatened to impregnate her. Jennifer broke free and sought shelter in a bathroom. Stephanie broke down the bathroom door. Jennifer the fled the home followed by Stephanie. Witnesses saw the incident continue down the street. Domestic violence related charges have been brought against Stephanie. Right now charges of assault with the intent to commit rape have issued. Police seized the container of semen. The defendant was released on her own recognizance. a “refrain from abuse” order has issued as well. \
Read Article: Domestic Violence Charges For Woman Who Tried To Inseminate Wife

The Massachusetts Abuse and Prevention Act is codified under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A. The act defines abuse as causing harm, attempting to cause harm, threatening to cause harm or forcing someone into sexual relations. The act applies to family or household members; people who are related to one another by blood or marriage, or who reside together, or who have been in a substantive dating relationship. Acts of violence against people falling within this definition are commonly categorized as domestic violence. The underlying act can be a criminal act such as an assault and battery, with or without a dangerous weapon, rape, murder and more. This statute sets out the criteria for obtaining restraining orders in Massachusetts as well.

Here, the article is unclear as to what charges were brought against the defendant. Most likely she was charged with assault and battery. The maximum sentence for a conviction of this crime is 2 1/2 years in jail.

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