Boston Criminal Lawyers Blog

Dorchester Man Arrested for Evading Fare at MBTA, Had 11 Outstanding Criminal Warrants

Published on: May 6, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Kevin Grannum, 45, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was arrested this past Tuesday by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority after “piggy backing” through the entrance gates at the MBTA’s Fields Corner Station.

After stopping Grannum, the MBTA Police Officers also discovered that he was wanted on 11 outstanding warrants for various criminal charges, including Assault & Battery on a Police Officer, Intimidation of a Witness, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Receiving Stolen Property and Resisting Arrest. He was also cited $15 for Fare Evasion.

Throughout my years in practice in Boston as a criminal defense lawyer, I can tell you that, if a Warrant has been issued against you, the police will ultimately arrest you on that warrant. In so many instances, even with present and former client, criminal defendants will neglect to appear for their court date. When that happens, the court will definitely issue a Default Warrant against him/her. Only in instances where I have been able to offer a very good explanation for a client’s non-appearance has a Judge not issued a warrant (admitted in the hospital; pre-existing medical condition; conflicting court dates; etc.).

Dorchester Man Arrested for Drug Dealing at Braintree’s South Shore Plaza

Published on: May 5, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Joseph F. Cruz, 28, of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was arrested on May 3rd for allegedly selling Oxycodone pills at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree.

Braintree Police Detectives allege that they had received complaints that Cruz was selling drugs out of his apartment. After an undercover surveillance operation was established, Braintree Police observed Cruz exit his apartment and drive to the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. At the mall, another man entered Cruz’ vehicle where a drug transaction is alleged to have taken place.

When Braintree Police tried to approach the two men, Cruz drove away and the two men ultimately fled into Nordstrom’s Department Store where Cruz was apprehended by mall security. The other man, however, was not caught.

Essex County Grand Jury Indicts Salem Man for Attempted Murder in Stabbing

Published on: May 3, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Michael Marino, 27, of Salem, Massachusetts, was recently indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury in connection with the stabbing of another man outside of his apartment complex on April 1.

The Salem Police Department reports that Marino stabbed the victim at least seven times to his neck and side, puncturing his liver and diaphragm. The victim was reportedly in stable condition after undergoing surgery as a result of the attack. It is unclear what provoked the altercation at this time, but it is reported that the victim had a relationship with Marino’s mother in the past.

The Essex County Grand Jury returned indictments for the charges of Armed Assault with Intent to Murder, three counts of Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon Causing Serious Bodily Injury, and four counts of Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.

Masked Man Arrested in Lowell Armed Robbery After Getting Dropped Off by Store Clerk

Published on: April 26, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

The Lowell Police Department have arrested a 23 year old man in connection with the robbery of a Getty Gas Station last Monday. The man, whose name has not been disclosed, was charged with Kidnapping and Armed Robbery, and is expected to be arraigned on those criminal charges in Lowell District Court this week.

Lowell Police report that the man, who is a regular customer and had even worked at the station he robbed in the past, was likely hiding behind a dumpster when he pulled a gun on a store clerk as he was locking up. The store’s alarm, however, had already been triggered, so the suspect quickly grabbed some money and ordered one of the clerk’s to drive him away. He was driven around the neighborhood for a short time, until he got out of the car and fled on foot. Interestingly, it was also reported that the armed robber had also gone to the store earlier in the evening and told someone that he planned on robbing the store.

It turns out, however, that the armed robber drove himself to a few blocks away from his own house where he got out of the car. Once out of the car, the armed robber took off his mask and started to walk home – and the store clerk followed him to his house. The store clerk from the Lowell store was quoted as saying:

Lynn Man Charged in Assault & Battery Attack on Boston MBTA Employee

Published on: April 24, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Daniel Jourdet, 52, of Lynn, Massachusetts, was arraigned this past week for allegedly punching an MBTA inspector at the Copley Square Green Line Station in Boston on April 1.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office reports that Jourdet, who was intoxicated at the time, was harassing or intimidating other passengers on the Copley Square Station platform. After the inspect asked him to leave the station, Jourdet allegedly yelled racial slurs at him, and then punched him.

Another passenger who witnesses the incident, captured the incident on his cell phone video and posted it on YouTube, which led to the MBTA Transit Police identifying him as the perpetrator.

Brookline Trespass Arrest Links Two Men Suspected of Breaking Into Over 26 Cars

Published on: April 19, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Two men were arrested last week in Brookline, Massachusetts, for allegedly Trespassing in a parking lot where recent car break-ins have been reported. Victor Edwardo Pena, of Jamaica Plain, and Nathan Ortega, of Dorchester, were both charged with Possession of Burglarious Tools, Receiving Stolen Property, and Trespassing.

The Brookline Police Officer who pulled the car over noticed a tool commonly used to break car windows, and also a flashlight under the Pena’s, the driver’s thigh. After ordering the men out of the car, the Brookline Officer also saw a screwdriver between the driver’s seat and door. Because the recent car break-ins were allegedly done using a flathead screwdriver, the officer then pat-frisked the occupants and searched their car, finding eight flathead screwdrivers, a black cap, two gloves, and a flashlight.

A subsequent inventory search of the car also revealed several GPS units, backpacks, keys, and personal effects bearing the names of other people. According to Brookline Police, these items were then traced to motor vehicle break-ins of at least 26 cars in Brookline, Boston, Cambridge and Norwood.

Convicted Massachusetts Murderer Escapes from Prison

Published on: April 16, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Derek Capozzi, of Beverly, convicted of Murder in Massachusetts for the 1996 killing of a woman, escaped from federal custody the other day by kicking through the door of a prisoner transport van in Kentucky.

In 2005, Capozzi was convicted in Federal District Court for the 1996 killing of Aislin Silva, then 19, of Medford, Massachusetts. Silva was allegedly killed by a gang of drug dealers and thieves who were allegedly connected to the Mafia. It was alleged that Capozzi helped cut her body into small pieces and bury them after another mobster strangled her.

Capozzi was convicted of Conspiracy to Murder, Accessory After the Fact, and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He had already been sentenced on an unrelated Gun / Firearms and Extortion charges where he had been sentenced to 30 years.

Massachusetts Governor Outlaws Sending Sexually Graphic Images to Minors

Published on: April 14, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Governor Deval Patrick signed into Massachusetts law a Cyber / Internet Crime bill that outlaws the transmission of sexually graphic instant message to minors. The new law was written to close a loophole that led to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversing the conviction of a man who was criminally charged with sending explicit instant messages to a 13 year old girl.

In that case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that instant messages could not be included in any of the state’s then-existing categories of Massachusetts’ obscenity laws because they did not constitute a visual representation of sexually explicit material, and were handwritten or printed material.

The Cyber / Internet Crime now includes and bans instant and text messages, e-mail and similar forms of electronic communications to minors containing sexually explicit material, which carries potential penalties of up to 5 years in state prison, and fines of up to $10,000.

Boston Murder of Hyde Park Man Was Over Car Repair Dispute

Published on: April 10, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

In a follow-up to my blog posting yesterday concerning the murder of Charles Cantave in the Hyde Park section of Boston, new information was released suggesting that the incident arose from a car repair dispute.

From information released by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the criminal defendant, Mario Burns, and the victim, Charles Cantave, were involved in a small-claims court hearing over a repair bill. Cantave was the manager at Brockton Four Wheels where the defendant’s wife, Kenya Burns, had taken their Volvo to be serviced. In her civil complaint, Kenya Burns claimed she paid $2,196 to have her engine replaced, but was later told by a Volvo technician that the work was no good. Burns disputed the repair costs, and the matter ended up in small-claims court in Dorchester on March 29.

After the civil court hearing in Dorchester, prosecutors allege that Burns followed Cantave to his car and fatally shot him. A witness told police that he heard a gunshot and then saw a man leaving in a GMC truck. The witness provided the Boston Police with the license plate number, and the vehicle was soon stopped on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester, with Burns driving.

2nd Amendment Gun Laws Upheld by District Court

Published on: April 8, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

United States District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbinia, in the Federal District Court of Columbia, recently applied the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller which created a constitutional right to have a gun.

In Heller, the United States Supreme Court rejected a government’s ban on handguns along with a separate requirement that guns in someones home be kept locked or disassembled. The Heller case marked the first time the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted the Second Amendment as guaranteeing the right to have a firearm. The Supreme Court stated that “[a] ban on handgun possession in the home violate[d] the Second Amendment, as its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense.”

The Supreme Court did go on to say, however, that some form of gun control or regulation could still be valid despite the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms.