Articles Posted in Violent Crimes

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The Lynn Item reports that Todd Ciepiela of Peabody, Massachusetts has been indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury for Carjacking stemming from a September incident. In the morning hours of September 26th a fifty six year old woman went to a local 7-11 store. As she went to get into her car she was grabbed and forcibly pulled away from her vehicle by Ciepiela who also grabbed her keys. The woman was also thrown to the ground. Fortunately she suffered no injuries. Several days later the defendant was arrested in Revere, Massachusetts. Ciepiela has been charged with Unarmed Robbery and Carjacking. The case will be prosecuted in the Essex County Superior Court in Salem.

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Essex Superior Court Criminal Defense Lawyers

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Often times when someone is arrested for a crime like this days after its occurrence the primary issue at trial becomes one of identification. These crimes occur quickly and victims are not always able to make positive identifications of their assailants. Additionally, people who steal cars in this manner do so with the intention of obtaining objects of value such as pocketbooks, wallets or other items left in consoles or glove compartments. Sometimes the vehicle is stripped and parts or components are sold. It is rare that the individual will continue to drive the vehicle for an extended period of time as the district attorney claims Ciepiela did. Many cases are won by challenging the integrity of identifications.

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Marylou Quinones Fry-Trifone of Billerica, Massachusetts was served with divorce papers a few days ago. Less than twenty four hours later she was arrested for trying to kill her fourteen year old stepdaughter. According to the Lowell Sun, the victim woke up around 4:30 a.m. and found the defendant at the front of her bed holding a large knife. The defendant yelled that she was going to kill the girl. She then swung the knife hitting the girl in the forearm, back and stomach. The victim screamed. Her sister and father came to her aid and subdued Fry-Trifone. Within minutes the police arrived. The victim was transported to a local hospital. Fry-Trifone has been charged with Assault With the Intent to Commit Murder, Assault and Battery, Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon and Assault With a Dangerous Weapon. She was released on one thousand dollars cash bail.

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Billerica, Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer

This article shows the value of having an Experienced Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer at your arraignment. These are very serious charges. Most of the charges are felonies and there is a possibility that this case will be prosecuted in the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn. There is also a possibility that if convicted Fry-Trifone will have to serve a jail or prison sentence. However, her lawyer did a great job getting bail set at one thousand dollars, a relatively small sum given the severity of these charges. These cases can take months or even more than a year to resolve. If the defendant is held without bail or on an unaffordable cash bail he or she will be stuck in jail while the case is pending.

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This past weekend Thomas Frechette of Saugus, Massachusetts was found outside of his home by police officers responding to his wife’s emergency call. Reports claim that Frechette”s wife was found locked in the upstairs bathroom of her home. She told police that she and Frechette had argued after which he pushed her, grabbed her and kicked her. Frechette had been drinking and admitted to police that he and his wife had been in a fight. Frechette’s wife told the police that he owned firearms in the trunk of his car and that during the fight he had threatened to kill her. Apparently Frechette keeps the car in which the firearms are stored in Malden. He has been charged in the Lynn District Court with Domestic Assault and Battery and Threatening to Commit a Crime. No Gun Charges have been filed however the police are applying for a Search Warrant to search the car for the weapons.

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Saugus, Massachusetts Domestic Abuse Defense Lawyer

Frechette’s defense in this case will largely depend on what his wife intends to do. Cases of Domestic Assault and Battery in Massachusetts are often impossible to prove without the cooperation and testimony of the victim. In Massachusetts spouses have an absolute privilege not to testify against their spouse. Thus, absent independent witnesses this case might be difficult to prove. The same logic applies for the gun charges that might issue. Even if the police find guns in Frechette’s trunk they will not likely be able to prove they were his without some corroboration. In this case, corroboration would come from the wife, the person who alerted the officers to their existence in the first place.

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This week the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued its opinion in the case of Commonwealth v. Nee. Nee was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in 2008 the Plymouth County Superior Court in Brockton, Massachusetts after a jury waived trial. He received a sentence of two and one half years in the house of correction with nine months to serve. A sentence as such typically results in a defendant serving four and one half months. The Court in its decision recited the following facts:

In September of 2004 Nee and two other Marshfield High School students (Farley and Sullivan) met with a police officer to inform her that another student had come up with a plan to blow up Marshfield High School. The meeting was arranged at Nee’s suggestion. Nee and the others described the plot to the officer. As planned, they never acknowledged any involvement in the plan. Acting on this information police officers executed a Search Warrant at the home of Tobin Kerns where they found evidence of the plan. Kerns was tried and convicted. Farley and Sullivan testified at his trial under a grant of immunity. Their testimony implicated Nee. Both stated that the intent was to execute a Columbine-style assault on the school and specified targets. The plan was elaborate.

Nee’s appeal argued insufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction for conspiracy to commit murder. In particular, the defendant suggested that he never intended to carry out the plan. Ruling against the defendant the Court held that to prove a conspiracy the prosecution need prove no more than an agreement with another with the intention to commit the act. There is no overt act requirement in Massachusetts. In addition, several witnesses testified about Nee’s involvement in the plan itself, that he experimented with explosive devices and recruited others to join in the plot. Nee also argued that he renounced his intention to carry out the plan and that act constitutes a complete defense to the charges. The Court held that in order to avail oneself of that defense he must first acknowledge that he conspired to commit the crime. In this case Nee denied involvement in the crime. The Court left open this issue as to whether or not the defense of renunciation is a viable defense to conspiracy in Massachusetts.

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David Marchant, a Boston Police Officer living in Dorchester, Massachusetts is facing charges of Domestic Assault and Battery. The alleged victim is his wife. Boston.com reports that Marchant was arrested over the weekend. Marchant’s mother-in-law told officers that she witnessed Marchant slap his wife and push her. The mother-in-law tried to intercede. Marchant hit her too. She further stated that her she heard a slapping sound and then saw her daughter fall down some stairs. She then called 911. Marchant is on administrative duty at the police department while an investigation is conducted.

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Boston Domestic Assault and Battery Defense Lawyer

Here are some interesting Domestic Violence statistics reported by the American Bar Association. There are about 1.3 million women and two thirds as many men assaulted by an intimate partner in this country each year. About thirty three percent of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner. 84% of spousal abuse victims are female. These figures are staggering and only slightly representative of the actual incidents of Domestic Violence that occur each year.

Naturally, prosecutors in Massachusetts take these cases quite seriously. All Massachusetts District Attorney’s Offices have specially trained attorneys who prosecuted primarily Domestic Violence Cases. Additionally, Restraining Orders are often directly implicated in Domestic Violence prosecutions. This is why it is important that anyone charged with Domestic Assault and Battery in Massachusetts hire an Experienced Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer. Without proper representation you risk a conviction or possible jail sentence.

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According to the Metrowest Daily News, Vandie Porter, a forty three year old man from Wayland, Massachusetts is being charged with Assault With Intent to Kill, Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Threatening to Commit a Crime and Assault and Battery. It is reported that Porter and another man got into a fight at a gas station on Boston Post Road early yesterday morning. Before the police arrived Porter fled. He was located about two hours later at which time he was arrested. The complainant received only minor injuries. The case will initially be prosecuted in the Framingham District Court. If the district attorney intends to prosecute all of the current charges the case will be indicted and transferred to the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

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http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/police_and_fire/x1985977297/Wayland-man-charged-with-attempted-murder

Having been practicing Criminal Defense Law in Massachusetts for over twenty years it strikes me as somewhat strange that the charges in this case are so severe. The victim was barely hurt. I know that there is an allegation that a weapon was used however that it referred to only as a “sharp metallic object”. There is a suggestion that Porter and the other person knew each other. You would think that if the weapon were a knife are something similar that either the victim or a witness would be able to say so. These days gas stations and many other businesses have security cameras inside the establishment and in the area of the pumps and parking lots. It is quite possible that obtaining this tape, if it exists might be a significant piece of Porter’s defense. Often times these recordings are destroyed or lost with the passage of time. With that in mind it becomes imperative for defense lawyers to get Court Orders to access and preserve that material if there reason to believe that the video will be helpful with the defense of the accused.

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This past Tuesday Boston Police responded to a report of an Armed Robbery in the Allston section of Boston. When they arrived Darryl Barboza left the scene riding a bicycle. He got off of the bike and went to the rear of a home at which time he took out the Firearm and brandished it towards an officer. Barboza then discarded the gun. Police located a twenty five caliber handgun in the area. The weapon was fully loaded. Barboza, who is twenty eight years old has been charged with Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon and Carrying a Firearm. Barboza is also being charged with being an Armed Career Criminal.

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Armed Career Criminal and Gun Possession Charges Filed Against Boston Man

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Massachusetts Armed Career Criminal Defense Lawyer

If the statute under which Barboza is being prosecuted is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269 Section 10G(b) he is looking at a minimum mandatory ten year state prison sentence. This is due to the fact that he has two prior gun convictions, one in 2002 and the other in 2004. There may be a problem for the prosecution however in that the predicate prior convictions must be for “violent crimes”. In Massachusetts Possession of or Carrying a Firearm does not automatically satisfy this element. There must be some use of the weapon or conduct that presents a serious risk of physical injury that accompanied the prior conviction to satisfy this aspect of the statute.

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Yesterday morning Lynn, Massachusetts Police observed Wilford Wright and two other people on Washington Street engaged in what they believed was a drug transaction. The officers reported that once Wright made eye contact with them he “tucked something into his pocket and began walking into the” Washington Street address. The officer asked him to stop. He refused. They then asked him where he was going. He responded that he was going to his friend’s apartment. One of the police officers then tried to Pat Frisk Wright. Wright resisted. Supposedly he then pushed the officer and a struggle ensued. Wright was subdued with pepper spray. Police then seized some crack cocaine. Wright was charged with Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Resisting Arrest and Assault and Battery on a Police Officer. The case is pending in the Lynn District Court.

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Lynn Man Charged With Assaulting Police Officers, Possession With Intent to Distribute Class “B”

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Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, Drug Cases

In order to justify the stop and eventual frisk of Wright the police must have reasonable suspicion to believe that a crime had been committed, was being committed or was about to be committed at the time of the stop. Here the police believed that a drug deal was occurring. The article fails to specify what exactly the police observed and how they determined this to be criminal activity. The absence of detail or lack of experience of the officer, if any may serve as a basis for attacking the validity of the stop. Also, if the police used more force than necessary at the stop then the stop morphs into an arrest. There is a requirement that police have probable cause to effectuate an arrest. Suppression will lie if the use of force by the police exceeded what was necessary for the stop and a judge determines that the stop was actually an arrest lacking probable cause.

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Cesar Maldonado was at the 8th Street Tavern in Haverhill, Massachsuetts having some drinks. The bartender decided to stop serving him. She then went outside the bar for a break. Maldonado followed her. He entered his van, withdrew a .45, returned and pointed it at her. She ducked. Maldonado left in his vehicle. Someone got a plate number. Later that evening Maldonado was apprehended nearby. Police located the firearm which was determined to be stolen. Maldonado has been charged with Receiving Stolen Property Over $250, Possession of Ammunition, Carrying a Firearm and Assault With a Dangerous Weapon. The case in pending in the Haverhill District Court.

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http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x2009599235/Haverhill-man-arrested-after-pointing-gun-at-bartender

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Massachusetts Gun Charge Defense Lawyer

If the prosecution can link Maldonado to the gun he is going to serve a minimum mandatory eighteen month house of correction sentence. The district attorney can make the connection by getting Maldonado’s prints off of the gun or by having one of the witnesses identify the weapon. Maldonado’s proximity to the firearm at the time it was found also factors into the carrying charge. The police do not have to actually find you holding a weapon to get a conviction on these charges. However, if there is no identification of the weapon and it was found at a remote location then this charge can possibly be defended with some success. Search and Seizure issues might be implicated depending on what the police did when they entered the home where the defendant was arrested. The constitutionality of their search will depend not only on their actions but the sequence of events.

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A thirty four year old pregnant woman told Lynn, Massachusetts police that she and her boyfriend, Juan Pablo Hernandez got into a fight. Supposedly Hernandez choked her. She fell and Hernandez then kicked her several times. He prevented her from contacting the police. Eventually she left the home for several hours. The following day the woman went to a medical facility for an evaluation. She returned home and she and Hernandez got into a verbal altercation. Afterwards, the woman went to the police station and made her formal complaint. Charges against Hernandez issued in the Lynn District Court. He is facing counts of Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon, Intimidation of a Witness, Domestic Assault and Battery and Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Woman. Hernandez denied all charges upon his arrest.

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Lynn, Massachusetts Man Accused Of Kicking, Choking Pregnant Girlfriend

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According to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13A Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Woman in Massachusetts is a felony. It carries with it a possible five year state prison sentence. Most of these cases are prosecuted in the district court where the maximum penalty that can be imposed is two and one half years on the house of correction. Hernandez might have some viable defenses to this case. The complainant took her time reporting the incident to the police. Even after receiving medical treatment she returned home to Hernandez. It was not until after they had a verbal argument that she made her complaint. Jurors might think that anyone in her position would contact the police immediately. They might also wonder why she returned to him the night of the alleged assault and the next day after receiving a medical evaluation. Cases like this are often triable from a defense perspective. Common sense suggests that something is terribly wrong with this story. That something could create a reasonable doubt in the mind of the factfinder.

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