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Boston Criminal Lawyer News

Fatal Accident in Andover, Massachusetts

ANDOVER – December 12, 2010 . “A 30-year-old Bradford woman was killed this afternoon after being struck by a drunk driver outside a Massachusetts State Police barracks in Andover, said spokesman David Procopio.

Robert V. Bryant, 50, of Bradford, was arrested….“

Full Article featured in the Boston Globe, December 12, 2010: Pedestrian killed outside Andover barracks, driver faces OUI charges

Teens Charged After Underage Drinking

LYNN – JUNE 2nd. 19 year old Christoopher Maxson of Lynn plead guilty to drunk driving and motor vehicle homicide charges after crashing his SUV on March 21, killing 1 person and injuring 2 others. He and the passengers attended a party hosted by Craig Snow. Snow, 19, is also being charged under the state’s “social host law” which holds a person accountable for the “furnishing of alcohol to guests who are minors.”

Read More About This Underage DUI Charge and Vehicular Homicide Charge.

California Police Chief Gets DUI Pass

RIVERSIDE, CA JANUARY 4TH 2010 – On a February 8 traffic stop, officers pulled over their then- Assistant Police Chief, Russ Leach. Upon being stopped Leach phones the 2nd in command, Chief John De La Rosa. De La Rosa bypassed the decision to test his boss and had the Commander on Duty drive Leach home.

Read More About This DUI Case

Dorchester Drug Bust – Largest Recent Pot Bust in Boston

DORCHESTER JUNE 3rd 2010 – Edgar Gonzalez’s, of Dorchester has been implicated in the “single largest” pot bust in the city’s recent history and is scheduled to be arraigned today on marijuana trafficking charges.

Prosecutors said the seizure at Edgar Gonzalez’s Wilcock Street apartment yesterday yielded one ton of marijuana.

Read more about this Marijuana Trafficking Charge

Couple Accused of Heroin Burglary Spree

ATTLEBORO  JUNE 3, 2010  A young suburban couple has been accused of burglarizing over 120 houses in the Mansfield, Franklin and Foxboro areas.

Danielle Mascarello, 26, told Attleboro police that she and her husband Joseph A. Riccard, 32, have broken into about 120 homes in the past two months at a rate of “two homes per day,” according to a police report.

Read more about this Heroin Burglary Spree

Eighth DUI Conviction For Vermont Man

ST. ALBANS, VT – MAY 18 2010.  According to the Boston Herald, a Vermont man was convicted of his eighth (DUI) drunk driving offense. His previous conviction had resulted in a motor vehicle homicide.

 Read more about this Repeat Offense DUI Charge

Another Boston Celebrity Accused of Selling Oxycodone

BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 25th 2009. One of the Stars of The Television Show “Smallville” who was from the Roxbury area of Boston, was arrested in a federal drug sting and has been accused of conspiracy to deal thousands of oxycodone pills.

Read more about Celebrity Oxycodone Dealers in Boston

Female Police Officer Accuses Fellow Officer of Sexual Assault

BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 5th 2009. A female Boston police officer has filed a restraining order against one of her colleagues. In it she accuses him him of raping her and then threatening the life of her life and her husband.

Judge David Weingarten denied a request to extend the restraining order against the officer after his accuser took the stand and withstood about two hours of cross-examination from the male officer’s lawyer, Thomas Drechsler. Weingarten made his decision based on technical reasons, not the merits of the case. The woman had previously been issued an emergency restraining order.

Read more about Sexual Assault Crimes in Boston

Biotech Executive Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 2009. Howard Richman, 57, of Pearland, Texas, who was formerly an executive at the Cambridge biotech company, Biopure Corp., has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to a federal judge about his health. He told the judge he was gravely ill with colon cancer in order to evade a government lawsuit against him over an experimental synthetic blood product.

Read more about White Collar Crime in Boston

Boston Murder & Crime Rates Down

BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 2009. Boston’s crime rates have fallen, which is consistent with the overall trend across the country in major cities. Since Mayor Thomas Menino took office in 1993, the Boston Police Department has implemented a strong community policing policy.

Read more about Boston’s Murder Rate

Woman Arrested For Cocaine Possession on Informant Tip

QUINCY, MA. August 19, 2009. Quincy’s Police drug unit used a tip to arrest a Malden woman who has been charged with possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Allegedly the female stored the crack cocaine in separate baggies tucked into her bra.

Police claim that they approached the woman upon receiving a tip that she was involved in the drug trafficking trade. According to police, when they approached, the woman had only one baggie of crack in her hand. Police then claim that the 33 year old Malden native removed 19 separate baggies from her bra after coming into contact with the officers.

As well as the large quantity of drugs on this woman, police also seized two cell phones, and an SUV. An interesting aspect of this case will revolve around the tip that the police received. One common issue in cases such as these is the use of confidential informants. In drug cases, the officer’s best way to develop a case and obtain a search warrant is by monitoring the trafficker’s location and distribution network through the use of controlled purchases by confidential informants.

Read more about the Use of Confidential Informants.

Cambridge OUI Arrests Increase

CAMBRIDGE, MA. A string of OUI arrests on November 1st, 2008, in Cambridge represents a trend of the increasing OUI arrests in the city during the 2008 year. More specifically, in 2008 in Cambridge alone there was a 52 percent increase of OUI arrests by law enforcement officers from the previous year.

Compared to an increase of just 4.6 percent statewide in the same year, this number is staggering. However, Cambridge Lieutenant Jack Albert claims that the increased number of OUI arrests in Cambridge is due to better-trained police officers, a more efficient system of reporting OUIs to the state, and greater awareness and attention against drunk drivers.

According to State Police, there were 40 OUI arrests in 2008 that occurred at four federally-funded late night sobriety checkpoints in the city, accounting for 75% of Cambridge’s increase in OUI arrests for last year.

Read The Full News Article on Cambridge OUI Arrests

Marijuana Legalization Laws Tested

In November 2008, Massachusetts voters approved the marijuana decriminalization law which states in part that people who are found in possession of one ounce or less of marijuana will not be charged with a criminal offense, but instead will receive a ticket for a civil violation.

Read the full news article on Marijuana Possession Laws in Massachusetts

DUI – Motorists Face Ignition Lock Laws

In six states this week, new laws were put into effect requiring motorists convicted of a DUI to install devices that monitor blood alcohol content (BAC) via a breath test. These drivers will not be able to start their cars unless the Ignition Interlock System (http://www.1800duilaws.com/article/interlock.asp) finds that their BAC is below a certain level. Five out of six states mandate the breath-monitoring machine for first-time DUI offenders; while the sixth state, South Carolina, requires it for repeat offenders only. Other states already have similar laws allowing judges to decide if drunk drivers are required to use the device, though judges seldom enforce them.

Read the full news article on Drunk Driving Ignition Locks

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