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Law enforcement officials at the state, federal and local levels arrested twenty eight people in the Brockton area yesterday following an investigation targeting low to mid-level drug dealers selling Cocaine and Crack Cocaine. The ages of the defendants ranges from nineteen to forty nine years old and includes women, men and homeless people. Most of the defendants are from Brockton, with a few from Bridgewater and Raynham. The charges leveled at the defendants vary. Some are charged with Cocaine Distribution, Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws, Distribution of Crack Cocaine, School Zone Violations, Heroin Distribution and Distribution of Cocaine Second and Subsequent Offense. Bail ranged from personal to thirty thousand dollars cash. The investigation was named Operation Street Sweeper II. This operation follows two other successful large scale investigations in the Brockton area in the last year. The cases are pending in the Brockton District Court. According to newspaper reports one courtroom was set aside to handle all of the arraignments in this case.

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http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/cops_and_courts/x438682197/Police-arrest-34-suspected-drug-dealers-in-Operation-Street-Sweeper-II-in-Brockton

Operation Street Sweeper.jpg

Brockton Cocaine Distribution Defense Lawyer

All throughout Massachusetts and the entire country police have been implementing various tactics aimed at disrupting street-level drug dealing activities. Among these strategies are controlled buys, raids and large scale crackdowns. The latter method deploys large numbers of undercover officers who typically target Heroin, Crack and Cocaine dealers. There is a belief that the effectiveness of these operations is limited to the short term. Once the arrests are made and law enforcement vacates the area drug dealers come to the area quickly and establish or reestablish their presence. This can be defeated if there is a follow up plan that prevents the reinstatement of the unlawful activities. It is however generally agreed that drug sweeps do result in a diminution of drug dealing activities at least initially and that getting these people off the streets is a good start towards fighting drug dealing efforts.

There is often difficulty in effectively prosecuting these kinds of cases. People arrested in drug sweeps are done so an extended time after the commission of the alleged activity. For instance, if the police are engaged in one of these large scale operations they will often make the controlled buy and not effectuate the arrest until a future date. This makes the job of the Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney somewhat easier. Doubt is often raised in these cases simply because jurors cannot understand why the police would wait to make an arrest. People simply do not believe that a police officer would fail to make an arrest immediately after witnessing a crime. It is counterintuitive to the lay person. Evidence of the overall operation might be excluded at trial particularly in cases where there in no link between the various people arrested and charged with drug dealing.

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Can you imagine being only twenty three years old, being held in a jail on seventy five thousand dollars and facing a minimum mandatory fifteen year state prison sentence. That is exactly the predicament Roger Jones of Manchester, New Hampshire is in right now. According to an article in today’s Lynn Item, Jones was arrested for Trafficking OxyCodone. The estimated value of the drugs seized is about sixty thousand dollars. Apparently, in January a post office official became suspicious of a package addressed to someone in Lynn, Massachusetts. Law enforcement got involved. They opened the package and found about two thousand OxyCodone pills in a cotton candy machine. The package was subsequently delivered to the Lynn address. The recipient worked with police and contacted the person who was ultimately to receive the drugs. This was Chrystalina Cruz of Salem, Massachusetts. Cruz and Jones went to the Lynn address to accept the package. Both were arrested. Cruz was released on ten thousand dollars cash bail.

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Essex County OxyContin Trafficking Defense Attorney

One of the things this article fails to address is why it took months to get Jones into court for his arraignment. It appears that the police arrested him in January, near the time that the postal inspector first became suspicious of the package. Why then wait until now to get Jones arraigned. Moreover, it strikes me that the bail is somewhat high right now. The article makes no mention of a prior criminal history, or Jones being a danger to the community or the risk that Jones will flee the jurisdiction in an attempt to evade prosecution.

Substantively I have several questions about the viability of this prosecution. What information did the police have regarding Jones at the time of the arrest? Did they simply see him appear with Cruz or did they have conversations with him suggesting that he was arriving to get the drugs? Was the woman in Lynn able to provide incriminating information pertaining to Jones or only about Cruz? Did Jones take possession of the drugs prior to his arrest or was he arrested at the time he got to the home in Lynn? A Massachusetts OxyCodone Trafficking Defense Lawyer would need the answers to these questions in preparing to defend Cruz. Keep in mind, absent any affirmative evidence that Jones intended to possess OxyCodone with the intent to distribute the drugs there is no viable trafficking case against him. Similarly, absent an agreement between Jones, Cruz and or the woman at the home in Lynn any Conspiracy indictment against Jones would be weak. Cruz too may have defenses to this case. It is clears that the unnamed woman in Lynn was involved with the trafficking operation. When pressed, she blamed Cruz and said in so many words that Cruz made her do it. She called Cruz to come over to her home. However absent some evidence that Cruz went over there to access the drugs or evidence showing that Cruz even knew that drugs had been sent there it might be difficult to successfully prosecute her.

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Shayna Fernandez from Lawrence Massachusetts is charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle following a car crash on June 11th that killed two people. According to The Lawrence Eagle Tribune, over the objection of the Assistant District Attorney, Judge Timothy Feeley reduced Ferndandez’s bail from fifty-thousand dollars to twelve thousand five hundred dollars. However, even if she makes bail she will be restricted to house arrest with conditions that she abstain from alcohol and driving, stay away from the victim’s families and remain on an electronic monitoring device. The Tribune reports that Ferndandez takes care of her severely disabled younger sister and lives at home with her mother.

According to sources, Ferndandez admitted to the police that she had been drinking beer up to four thirty in the morning; two hours before the accident. Although Ferdnandez escaped the crash without injuries, the driver of the other vehicle and one passenger were killed. Another passenger in the other car was treated and released from the Lawrence General Hospital.

Recognizing that all of the facts are not known at this time, it appears that at the time of the incident Ferndandez stated that the accident occurred when she was traveling in the left lane and a Blazer with a small watercraft and trailer attached were in the center lane. As Ferndandez attempted to enter the center lane the Blazer began to change lanes and the cars collided.

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Yesterday a Framingham, Massachusetts man was arraigned in the Middlesex County Superior Court after having been charged with Possession of Child Pornography and Distribution of Child Pornography. The defendant, Thomas Hannover was released on his own recognizance. The Metrowest Daily News article did not provide details of the allegations stating only that the charges followed a two year investigation and that Hannover possessed fifty five files that could be shared peer to peer. A condition of Hannover’s release is that he stay away from children under the age of sixteen.

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http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/police_and_fire/x1757338943/Framingham-man-arraigned-on-child-porn-charges

Massachusetts Child Pornography Possession/Distribution Defense Lawyer

Child Pornography Possession and Distribution are types of Internet Crimes. There are lots and lots of people who access Child Pornography on the internet and have absolutely no idea that their actions constitute “distribution”. Now you are probably asking “how can that be?” The answer is easy. File sharing constitutes distribution for the purpose of Child Pornography Laws in Massachusetts. File sharing is the act of enabling access or distributing information that is stored digitally. You might remember Napster or Kazaa when they first came out. All you had to do was sign up and you could immediately search for, access and download music files for any artist for free. What you might now have known what that once these files were loaded people could access them from you computer and download them for their own use or actively distribute the songs. Well, even though you never openly said “come in and help yourself to my music” the act of joining up and using these programs constituted an act of distribution. The same applies here. If Hannover was using these programs so that he could possess the materials for himself, he was also permitting others to get into his files so that they too could view or download the Child Porn. District Attorneys in Massachusetts treat this as distribution, felony.

File sharing activities are being regulated by many governments throughout the world. This has been done to curb the erosion of certain areas of the entertainment industry, particularly the music industry. In many instances lawsuits were filed against people hosting peer to peer file sharing websites. On the criminal side prosecutors and law enforcement officials try to monitor these websites and prosecute people they believe to be exploiting children through these activities. Literally millions of Americans use peer to peer software. Sometimes downloading activities are done innocently or accidentally. Nevertheless, if caught these people are likely to face criminal charges making it imperative that they hire an Experienced Massachusetts Child Pornography Defense Lawyer.

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According to at least one person Kimberly Pietrini and Hassan Wilkes were on vacation and staying at a Framingham, Massachusetts motel. Why Wilkes was at a Dunkin Donuts near the motel Pietrini met with a man who responded to her backpage.com advertisement. The man met Pietrini at the motel. He assured her that he was not a cop. A fee arrangement was made and Pietrini told the man to place his money on a night table and take his clothes off. Unbeknownst to Pietrini, the man was an undercover police officer. She was arrested and charged with Prostitution. At the same time, Pietrini was getting texted by Wilkes. Police found him at the nearby donut establishment. Wilkes denied knowing that Pietrini was working at the time. He did acknowledge that she works as a prostitute. Wilkes was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Prostitution and Deriving Support from a Prostitute. The charges are pending in the Framingham District Court. Pietrini pleaded guilty at her arraignment. She was fined two hundred fifty dollars.

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http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/police_and_fire/x242155823/Two-arrested-on-prostitution-charges-in-Framingham

Depending on the accuracy and completeness of this article Wilkes might want to fight these charges. Deriving support from prostitution in Massachusetts is a violation of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 Section 7. The crime is a felony and carries a state prison sentence if the district attorney indicts the case and prosecutes the charges in the superior court. To convict Wilkes the prosecution must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• That Pietrini engaged sex for a fee
• That Wilkes knew that she did so
• That Wilkes shared in her earnings from that act.

By all accounts Wilkes is guilty of no more than knowing that Pietrini was a prostitute. The prosecution can probably not even show that he knew that she was engaging in such an act while he was out of the room. As a Massachusetts Prostitution Defense Lawyer I am interested in knowing what the text messages from Wilkes to Pietrini said. If nothing inculpatory was texted that in all probably Pietrini would have to testify against him and it is highly unlikely that she would do so. Cases like this often go to trial and get dismissed on a motion for a required finding. Motions to dismiss can be filed and argued, and on occasion these can be successful in the district court. This is an alternative to trial and a good way to rid the court system of cases that have no viability. This tactic requires the right set of facts, the right judge and a defense lawyer who knows and is able to argue the law. It is abundantly clear why Wilkes chose to plead not guilty at his arraignment as opposed to Pietrini.

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Over the course of a month-long drug investigation undercover state police officers purchased heroin on four occasions from Lawrence, Massachusetts resident Jonathan Castro. The buys occurred on two separate days in May and two in June, the latest being this past Tuesday. It is alleged that during the last transaction Castro sold somewhere around twenty grams of heroin to an undercover officer. Castro was in a car being driven by Jose Ventura of Methuen, Massachusetts. Officers made a connection between Castro and an apartment on Dracut Street as well. Castro had the keys to the apartment in his possession at the time of his arrest. Officers went to the apartment and using the key gained entry to the premises. They found Jhon Ramos, also of Lawrence, inside the apartment. Officers claim that Ramon permitted the search and signed a consent form. The apartment contained over twenty eight grams of heroin, a scale, cash and related drug distribution paraphernalia. All three suspects were charged with Trafficking Heroin, Over Twenty Eight Grams and Conspiracy to Violate the Drug Laws. Castro and Ramos were also charged with a School Zone Violation. All of these defendants will be prosecuted in the Essex County Superior Court in Salem.

Read Article:

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x177904619/Three-arrested-on-drug-trafficking-charges

Just yesterday I blogged on joint venture in Massachusetts and its applicability to people who are simply present at a crime scene. Today’s post presents a very different view of that legal theory. While the article does not clearly indicate Ventura’s involvement in the crimes it does suggest inferentially that he was present with the purpose of facilitating Castro’s efforts to sell heroin. If that is the situation, and the prosecution can establish facts that support Ventura’s active involvement in the distribution efforts his defense becomes more complicated. Certainly there may be innocent reasons why he was with Castro and perhaps his presence had nothing to do with drug distribution. In that case Ventura’s Massachusetts Drug Trafficking Defense Attorney will defend this case on the theory that there lacks sufficient evidence to support a prosecution. This can be done prior to trial or at trial depending on the facts particular to this case and the attorney’s defense strategy. The defense for Castro will likely be different. In the case of hand to hand sales entrapment is the typical defense. Ramos’ defense might hinge on the voluntariness of his consent and the extent of his involvement with the items found at the apartment, if any. All of these gentlemen have a battle in front of them that requires the skill and commitment of an Experienced Massachusetts Heroin Trafficking Lawyer.

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Christopher Nikas is being held following an arrest for his involvement in a stabbing incident. Authorities allege that on June 5, 2011 a stabbing occurred across from the public library in Newburyport. The person accused of doing the stabbing is Joseph Poaletta who was recently arrested for this case in Lynn, Massachusetts and arraigned two days ago. The fight was supposed to be between Nikas and Robert West and a location for the conflict was set. However, just prior to the arranged altercation Poaletta brandished a knife and threatened to use it on anyone who might interfere with the fight. One of West’s cohorts, Damian Dobson confronted Poaletta and told him that he was “not going to stick anyone”. Poaletta responded by stabbing Dobson one time in the stomach. Reports state that West and Dobson are members of a local street gang with Salisbury connections. Nikas has been charged with Accessory After the Fact, Armed Assault With the Intent to Murder and Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon. Both Nikas and Poaletta have criminal records and have served time. The case is pending in the Newburyport District Court. This case might be prosecuted in the Salem Superior Court.

Read Article:

http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x177902892/Another-stabbing-suspect-arrested

Based on this article it is unlikely that Nikas will be convicted for the stabbing of Dobson. Poaletta is the principle in this case. Nikas’ cannot be held accountable for his actions unless the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Nikas was a joint venturer in these acts. To prove joint venture in this case the district attorney needs to convince a jury that Nikas intended the stabbing and that he acted in some extent in support of the stabbing effort. Both of these elements appear to be missing here. Nikas intended to fight West and vice versa. Poaletta’s threat with the knife was not something that Nikas had in mind nor was the actual stabbing of Dobson an act in which he participated. Additionally, there is nothing mentioned to suggest that Nikas did anything to support Poaletta’s act of stabbing Dobson. Any thorough Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney will obviously investigate these allegations but if the Newburyport News article is factually accurate Nikas may very well be acquitted of these charges. I am curious to know what West and Dobson have said to the police, if anything, relative to Nikas’ involvement in the stabbing. Along those lines, West might not be cooperative with the prosecution. His altercation with Nikas might rise to the level of criminal activity thereby giving him a privilege against self-incrimination. Given his gang involvement he may very well invoke this privilege.

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Brian Racine is forty six years old. He is registered under Massachusetts law as a level three Sex Offender. He is now in the fight of his life, fighting allegations that he committed Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under the Age of 14, a Second or Subsequent Offense on several occasions back in 2008. The Lowell Sun has been reporting the trial. The victim, who was eight years old at the time of the alleged incident apparently testified that Racine put his hand in the boys’ pants and moved his private parts. The two were watching a cartoon and the boy was sitting on Racine’s lap. According to the prosecution the boy and his family were staying with Racine while looking for their own place to live. Within a couple of weeks the abuse started. The boy said nothing for a couple of days. Then, when his family left Racine’s home the disclosure was made to his mother. Racine has been convicted on two other occasions of Sex Crimes. He was convicted in 1983 for an undisclosed offense. In 2003 he was convicted of Possession of Child Pornography if Federal Court. For that conviction he was sentenced to forty one months. Racine also faces prosecution for a 2009 case wherein he is accused of committing Rape of a Child with Force, Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under the Age of Fourteen, Second or Subsequent Offense and Assault With the Intent to Commit Rape. The current case is being prosecuted in the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

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Woburn Massachusetts Child Rape Defense Lawyer

In 2005, in response to a horrific crime, the state of Florida enacted a law that became known nationally as Jessica’s Law. Jessica Lunsford was a nine year old who was killed by a sexual deviant who had been convicted of sex crimes against a child in the past. The law required lengthy minimum mandatory sentences for people who had been convicted of committing Child Sex Crimes. A bill similar to the Florida law was introduced to Congress but it never passed. That did not stop over forty states from adopting a similar law. The Massachusetts version is what Racine is being prosecuted under. The law in Massachusetts went into effect in 2008. The version of the law that Racine is defending against is codified in G.L. c. 265 §13B ¾. That section makes a conviction for this offense punishable by a minimum mandatory fifteen years in state prison. The prior Sex Crime Conviction enhances the sentence. In this case the outcome is simple. If the jury believes the victim, who is now eleven, Racine will serve at least fifteen years in prison. He could face up to life in prison. With a record like his and with a pending similar offense, no sentence would come as a surprise to a Massachusetts Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer.

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If today’s Lawrence Eagle Tribune story is true sixty seven year old Robert Levesque appears to be in a great deal of trouble. The Haverhill native is being charged with Rape of A Child and has been indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury. Levesque’s case will move from Haverhill to the Essex County Superior Court in Salem where he will be prosecuted. Apparently, on March 16, 2011, accompanied by his wife Levesque entered the Haverhill police station. There, he admitted to having sex with a girl under the age of sixteen. The act occurred over a one year period and consisted of several incidents of abuse. A judge set Levesque’s bail at ten thousand dollars.

Read Article:

http://www.eagletribune.com/haverhill/x1315241161/Man-67-indicted-on-child-rape-charge

Salem, Massachusetts Child Rape Defense Attorney

Several times each week I get calls from clients telling me that they received a call from a police officer and that they were asked to go down to the station “to answer a few questions”. When they ask me if they should go down to speak with someone my advice is always NO! I have never seen someone talk himself out of a criminal charge. However, on countless occasions people who have visited the police station for questioning find themselves arrested and charged with a crime shortly thereafter. Some of these people never even get to leave the station. They get arrested on the spot. More unfortunate is that the large majority of these folks would not even be charged with crime had they called a Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney and taken some simple advice: Do not talk to anyone other than your lawyer. Our constitution provides everyone with an absolute right against self-incrimination. You are under no obligation to answer questions asked by law enforcement personnel. More importantly however is the fact that your silence cannot be used against you in any way. Even at trial the police are not permitted to tell a jury that they asked you to come in to speak with them and that you refused. Whenever you are in doubt about your rights you should contact a lawyer. I am not saying that Levesque would not have been charged had he kept his mouth shut. Yet by admitting to having committed this crime he has made his defense much more difficult. There is nothing more damaging than an admission to a crime. Hopefully his lawyer will be able to somehow get his confession tossed. If not, at age sixty seven whatever sentence he gets after a conviction will likely seem like a life sentence.

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Thirty-two year old Guarionex Pratts is charged with trafficking over 500 grams of heroin and trafficking over 28 grams of oxycodone. The Lawrence Eagle Tribune reports that a tip to the Drug Enforcement Administration Tipline led to the search of Pratts North Andover apartment located at 26 Royal Crest Drive Apartment #6. Apparently, Pratts consented to the search of his apartment in which investigators found 2.2 pounds of heroin, hundreds of oxycodone pills, $5,000.00 cash, drug packaging materials and heroin packaged for what investigators claim was for sale to customers. Pratts faces a fifteen year mandatory minimum sentence just on the heroin charge alone. According to the Tribune, the street value of the heroin is estimated at $150,000 and the street value of the pills is said to be valued at approximately $2,000.00. There was another drug raid at Royal Crest this fall which netted 54 kilograms of cocaine. Acting North Andover Police Chief Paul Gallagher stated that he has been working with the management at Royal Crest to start a Neighborhood Watch Program, which they evidently need!

One obstacle that defendants charged with drug offenses often face is that they often face mandatory minimum sentences. For example, if a defendant is charged with possession with intent to distribute or distribution of a controlled substance in a school zone, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance or distribution of a controlled substance as a subsequent offender or trafficking a controlled substance he or she faces at least two years to two years and a day from and after to twenty years in state prison. A defendant is often at the mercy of an unsympathetic District Attorney’s Office to either reduce the charge from a school zone or a second and subsequent offense to a first offense or reduce the amount alleged to have been trafficked so that a defendant can receive a reduced sentence. When a defendant is sentenced to a “mandatory minimum” sentence THE WHOLE SENTENCE MUST BE SERVED!” A defendant will not receive a reduction in time to be served based on good conduct or work.

That being said, there are many strategies that an experienced Boston area defense lawyer can employ to successfully defend these types of case. The following is a list of pre-trial evidentiary and non-evidentiary motions that, depending on the facts of a case, can be filed:
Non-Evidentiary
• Motion to Disclose Informant(s)
• Motion For Informant Regulations
• Motion For Disclosure Of Any Payment To An Informant
• Motion For Locations For School Zone Measurement
• Motion For List Of Experts
• Motion For Prior And Subsequent Bad Acts Of Defendant To Be Used At Trial
• Motion For Surveillance Location
• Motion For List Of Evidence Seized As The Result Of Any Search
• Motion For Certificate Of Analysis
• Motion To Sever Cases (If Applicable)
Evidentiary Motions
• Motion To Dismiss
• Motion To Suppress Stop And Evidence
• Motion To Suppress The Search And Evidence
• Motion To Suppress The Stop and Search And Evidence
• Motion To Remand Case To A Clerk’s Hearing (Misdemeanors Only)
• Motion For A “Frank’s Hearing”
• Motion To Suppress Statements

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