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According to The Lawrence Eagle Tribune Ed Manzi, 47, of 125 Windkist Farm Road North Andover Massachusetts was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault and battery, possession of a firearm, malicious destruction of property, intimidation of a witness and related offenses as a result of an incident with his girlfriend, Catherine Lambert. Manzi teaches in Tewksbury Massachusetts and has been suspended from his position without pay as a result of these charges.

Before the altercation the pair and their baby were at Ipswich River Park when Manzi drove off without them. Manzi’s attorney, Anthony Rozzi of Haverhill Massachusetts, maintained that Manzi left the park because Patricia was drinking alcohol in the park. According to the Tribune, when Lambert was packing Manzi’s clothes in a basket he punched her in the face and then struck her in the head with a computer speaker and monitor. She ran to get her mother, Patricia Lambert, who was outside riding a horse.

According to court documents, Patricia Lambert reported that when she asked Manzi to give her the baby he punched her in the face knocking her to the floor. When she stood up, Manzi allegedly took a semi-automatic pistol from her pocket and hit her on the head with it. While hitting her, a live round ejected from the gun. Lambert claims that Manzi hit her on the head and pulled the trigger numerous times. After the gun misfired, Manzi left the area and discarded the gun on Boston Street.

The defense paints a much different picture of the incident. Attorney Rozzi claims that the defendant acted in self-defense. Rozzi maintains that Manzi client was upset because Catherine Lambert was allegedly drinking alcohol at the park. According to the Tribune, Rozzi said there was some pushing and shoving at the couple’s apartment, but Catherine fell over their computer table and which caused her injuries.

Following the hearing the defendant was held without bail pending the outcome of a “dangerousness hearing” scheduled for March 23, 2009. During a dangerousness hearing the District Attorney’s Office is expected to present evidence that Manzi poses a threat to the community and should be held without bail until the case is resolved. Based on the facts of this case, it appears that the defendant will begin to mount its claim of self-defense.

When an individual is charged with assault and battery, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon or any other violent offense, self-defense is often a viable claim. In Massachusetts, in order to receive a jury instruction on self-defense the facts must indicate that the defendant must have reasonably believed that he or she was immediately about to be attacked or that his or her personal safety was in immediate danger. The individual must also have done everything that would be considered reasonable to avoid physical combat before resorting to force and must use no more force that was reasonably necessary in the circumstance to defend himself or herself. If self-defense is properly asserted during the trial, the instruction will also indicate that the District Attorney must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense

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MIT Police Officer Joseph D’Amelio was arrested Saturday night on charges of trafficking oxycontins.  Yesterday he was arraigned in the East Boston District Court and held on five hundred thousand dollars cash bail.  His cousin and co-defendant Anthony Cristallo was arrested and charged with these drug crimes as well.  According to reports a local Federal Express office opened a package sent from Florida believed to contain drugs.  Once the drugs were located Massachusetts State Police were notified.  An undercover trooper posing as a Federal Express employee then delivered the package to its intended location where it was signed for by an individual named Smoot.  Smoot called D’Amelio who arrived and checked the pills.  He in turn called Cristallo who showed up with sixteen thousand dollars he paid to Smoot for the pills.  All three were arrested. 

Read Article:  Cop Charged With Trafficking Oxycontins

Press Release:  High Bail Set For 2 Caught Trafficking

Drug Trafficking in Massachusetts is the possession with the intent to distribute an illegal substance or the actual distribution of the drug at a threshold quantity.  All trafficking offenses in Massachusetts carry in minimum sentence.  The threshold for trafficking class A and class B substances is fourteen grams.  There are many defenses to the charge of trafficking in Massachusetts.  Affirmative defenses depend on the circumstances of the case.  Often times district attorney’s offices in Massachusetts enter into plea bargains wherein case dispositions can be negotiated to something below the established mandatory sentence. 

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Last Friday the Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed a conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child over the age of fourteen and assault with the intent to commit rape of a child.  The reason:  prosecutorial misconduct based on an improper closing argument. 

At the time of the crime the victim was fifteen years old.  She testified that she and the defendant became acquainted at her school bus stop.  The defendant would drive up to the bus stop and talk to her ultimately convincing her to skip school and go the mall with him.  She ultimately agreed and got into his car believing that the two were headed to the mall.  The defendant stopped at an apartment purporting to change his clothes.  He went into the bathroom and when he returned he pulled down his pants and tried to make her perform oral sex on him.  He then held her down, grabbing her breasts and pulling her underwear down.  The victim resisted and advised the defendant that she was having her period.  The defendant stopped his attack and drove the victim back to school.  The defense suggested that the victim lied about the assault and that she and the defendant consensually went to the apartment to kiss.  In her summation the prosecutor vouched for the victim’s credibility asking the jury why she would come into court four years later to tell this story to a group of strangers (the jury).  The defense lawyer objected.  The trial judge overruled the objection and the jury convicted the defendant.

Reversing the verdict the Appeals Court held that “[a] prosecutor may not . . . suggest to the jury that a victim’s testimony is entitled to greater credibility merely by virtue of her willingness to come into court and testify.”  This tactic is an improper effort to bolster the credibility of a witness.  The Appeals Court also held that since the victim’s credibility was the key factor in the case the error was not harmless. 

Commonwealth v. Ramos, Slip Opinion March 13, 2008. 

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According to the Lawrence Eagle Tribune, a North Andover man was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a household member and illegal possession of a handgun. According to the paper, the defendant allegedly beat up his live in girlfriend then attempted to shoot her mother when she tried to protect her. It is also alleged that the defendant pointed a gun at the woman’s mother however, the gun did not fire. It was reported that the police found a loaded semi-automatic weapon within blocks of the incident.

The woman was treated at the Lawrence General Hospital, located in Lawrence Massachusetts, for injuries as a result of the beating. She obtained a restraining order from the police. The defendant was arrested on a fugitive from justice warrant in New Hampshire.

If you have been the defendant in a restraining order it is important that you know your rights. The complaining witness must demonstrate to the judge that he or she has reasonable apprehension of immediate physical harm. The fear or apprehension must be reasonable and also must be rimminent. Initially, a temporary restraining order usually issues. The defendant is supposed to be served with a copy of the order and generally there is a court hearing within one week. If the defendant does not appear and the complainant requests a continuance of the order, the order is routinely extended. The order can be extended for up to one year at a time. Upon expiration of the order the complainant can request that it be continued, however the defendant has a right to be present.

If an individual is the recipient of a restraining order in Massachusetts, it is important that he or she reads all of the conditions. For example, some of the orders simply order that the defendant not “abuse” the complainant. Other conditions may provide that the defendant “stay away” from the complainant and sometimes children.

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On Thursday police in Cape Cod, Massachusetts executed a search warrant at an apartment in Brewster.  This came on the heals of a lengthy investigation involving police from Brewster, Orleans and a Cape Cod Drug Task Force.  The result was the arrest of the residents of the apartment and a Chatham man.  During the raid officers seized approximately five hundred dollars worth of cocaine and four thousand dollars cash.  The two residents of the home were charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of  heroin with intent to distribute in a school zone, and conspiracy to violate drug laws. The Chatham man was charged with possession of heroin and possession of cocaine.  The cases are pending in the Orleans District Court. 

Read Article:  Raid On Cape Cod Apartment Results In Drug Charges

Unless the case is indicted to the Superior Court the most serious charge any defendant is facing is the school zone violation.  The Massachusetts school zone statute is Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 94C Section 32 J.  The law states that anyone who is convicted of either trafficking or possession with the intent to distribute or the actual distribution of controlled substances while within one thousand feet of a school zone must serve a minimum mandatory two year house of correction sentence.  There is no early parole associated with this sentence.  It is not a defense to these charges that the defendant did not know that he was in a school zone. 

Recently, there have been efforts in Massachusetts to rescind this statute.  Lawmakers have acknowledged that the statute as written exceeds its designed intent to punish those who sell on school property or to school aged children on school grounds.  The consequences of this law work disparately between people who live in the inner city and those who live in suburbs or more rural areas. 

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There was not a dry eye in the audience when a Norfolk County Jury convicted Ryan Bois for the death of a six year old Weymouth girl. According to the Boston Globe, in a courtroom filled with emotion, Judge Janet Sanders told a packed courtroom that this was the “worst she has seen in her fourteen years a a judge” before she imposed four life term sentences. Bois was convicted for the rape, murder and kidnapping of his six year old cousin, Joanna Mullin. According to news reports, the trial lasted six days and the jury deliberated for 8 hours before convicting Bois of first-degree murder, two counts of rape, home invasion, kidnapping, larceny of a motor vehicle, larceny under $250, malicious destruction of property under $250, failure to stop for a police officer and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

During the trial the defense maintained that Bois, 22 years old, was not guilty by reason of insanity. According to the Boston Globe, the Norfolk County prosecutor countered claiming that Bois’s action were calculated when he raped his young cousin, wrapped her body in bed sheets and a quilt, stole keys to his grandmother’s sport utility vehicle, and put the body in the back seat. The prosecutor presented evidence indicating that after committing this horrific crime, Bois called an acquaintance to get some drugs and during this conversation asked the acquaintance how to dispose of a body.

Understandably unable to listen to the details that led up to their daughter’s death Mullins parents stayed away during the trial. However, many relatives and friends attended the trial at the Norfolk Superior Court located in Dedham, Massachusetts. After the jury returned the guilty verdict the prosecutor read the victim impact statement that Joanna’s parents prepared.

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Deivy Rosario is a 27 year old Lawrence, Massachusetts man living on East Haverhill Street.  He has been indicted in New Hampshire and charged with conspiracy to sell heroin and intimidation of a witness.  According to reports, Rosario contacted a police officer who was instrumental in an earlier arrest of Rosario’s brother for heroin trafficking activities.  Rosario contacted the officer late last year indicating that he wanted a “face-to-face” meeting because his brother told him to “look her up”.  The brother, Luis Peguro-Tejada was arrested and charged last year after police seized three hundred twenty seven grams of heroin and $14,000 from his apartment. 

Rear Article:  Massachusetts Heroin Dealer Charged In New Hampshire

Intimidation of a witness in Massachusetts is a criminal act pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268 Section 13B.  The law states that anyone who directly or indirectly, threatens or attempts to cause or causes injury to someone who may be a witness in a criminal proceeding is guilty of the crime of intimidation of a witness.  There is a possible ten year prison sentence for a conviction of this crime in Massachusetts making this a felony.  In Massachusetts and most states this crime is taken very seriously.  Prosecutors make a strong effort to protect witnesses, particularly police officers who are threatened in connection with their duties.  Typically, the more “real” the threat the more serious the punishment will be if the defendant is convicted. 

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A pharmacist at a Framingham drug store noticed that two bottles of oxycontins, each containing one hundred pills was missing from the store.  He called the Framingham Police.  It turns out that Igor Minevich, a 23 year old pharmacy technician who had been working at the store for less than three weeks had taken the drugs.  He turned himself in to the police station and admitted to taking the pills.  Minevich also told the police that all of the pills were gone and that he had given them all to friends.  The defendant was charged with trafficking oxycontins and possession with the intent to distribute oxycontins.  The case is pending in the Framingham District Court.  Minevich was released on personal recognizance. 

Read Article:  Pharmacy Technician Who Stole Oxycontins Charged With Trafficking

Oxycontin is a class B substance substance in Massachusetts.  Trafficking class B substances is a felony pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 94C Section 32E.  A conviction carries a minimum mandatory sentence that varies depending on the weight of the substance that was trafficked.  Trafficking in Massachusetts is simply the possession with the intent to distribute or actual distribution of a controlled substance that exceeds a threshold weight.  In this case the defendant admitted to distributing the substance.  If it is determined that he distributed a quantity that meets the trafficking minimum he will have a tough fight ahead of him.  If however the evidence shows that much of this substance was for personal use and the quantity distributed was minimal the defendant might have a legitimate defense to the trafficking charge.  The article suggests that Minevich was using this substance.  This is corroborated by the statement of the pharmacist who reported the theft of the oxycontins to the police. 

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Last Friday Danvers Police Detective Stephen Baldassare rented 3 rooms at a motel on Route 1 North.  He then set up dates with women who were advertising “erotic services” on the internet.  The first woman arrived and agreed to provide sexual services for two hundred dollars.  She was arrested by police in an adjoining room.  The second woman arrived a couple of hours later and agreed to perform a sex act for one hundred eighty dollars.  She was also arrested.  One hour later the third woman arrived and agreed to similar services for one hundred fifty dollars.  This was the final arrest in this investigation that night.  All of the women were charged with sexual conduct for a fee in the Salem District Court. 

Acts of prostitution at the motels along Route 1 are increasing as the internet has become a way to sell and arrange for these services.  Crimes through the use of the internet are increasing and Massachusetts police departments such as Danvers and Peabody are “developing more cases through computer investigations”. 

Read Article:  Today’s Prostitutes Using The Internet To Attract Business

Engaging in sexual conduct for a fee is a criminal act in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 Section 53A.  Anyone who solicits sex for money or offers sex for money is subject to a five hundred dollar fine and up to one year in jail.  If the article referenced in this post is accurate, all women have violated this law.  Many times cases like this can be resolved in a manner where the accused will not have a conviction, particularly if the person has no criminal record. 

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Last week an 30 year old Fitchburg, Massachusetts man was arrested on allegations that he kidnapped, beat, threatened and sexually assaulted three women in a carjacking incident.  He is now being held without bail at the Bridgewater State Hospital and being evaluated for mental health issues.  Shortly after 10:00 p.m. Wednesday one of the victims was driving her car when the defendant approached and told her to get in the back.  The man then began hitting one of her passengers while threatening to kill all of the occupants.  When the woman fought back the defendant hit her in the mouth cutting her lip.  The defendant intended to force the women to drive him to Boston.  However, 911 calls made by one of the women prompted the assistance of the state police and the man was ultimately apprehended.  The defendant was charged with kidnapping, assault with the intent to commit rape, carjacking, assault and battery, threatening to commit a crime, assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest. 

Read Article:  Man Charged With Sexual Assault, Assault and Battery After Kidnapping and Carjacking Three Women

In the context of this case the carjacking is most likely the most serious charge carrying with it a possible 15 year state prison sentence.  There is also a five year minimum sentence that must be imposed if someone is convicted of carjacking while armed with a dangerous weapon.  The article states that the defendant in this case was wearing a chain around his neck containing a razor blade.  A razor blade can be considered a dangerous weapon thus possibly requiring the imposition of the mandatory five year sentence if this man is convicted of this crime. 

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