Boston Criminal Lawyers Blog

Undercover Boston Police Officers Arrest Quincy Man on Drug Charges

Published on: November 27, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Boston Police Drug Control Unit Officers arrested a man from Quincy and another from West Roxbury last week on Massachusetts Drug Crimes Charges.

Both men where arrested for Unlawful Possession of a Class A Substance, Heroin.

According to the Boston Police Department, officers were conducting undercover surveillance in the area of CVS in Roslindale, which they allege is a high drug transaction area. The officers reportedly recognized the Quincy man and followed him to West Roxbury, where he allegedly met another man.

Boston Man Charged with Massachusetts Gun Crimes Following Search of Dorchester Apartment

Published on: November 10, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Boston Police Officers executed a search warrant charged the Dorchester homeowner with several Massachusetts Gun Charges this past week.

The Dorchester man, Magnetic Tom, was charged with two counts of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Improper Storage of a Firearm and being a Level II Armed Career Criminal.

According to the Boston Police Department, a search warrant was executed at the man’s Washington Street apartment in Dorchester this past Thursday and recovered two handguns and several rounds of ammunition.

Boston Man Arrested for Milford Home Invasion

Published on: October 28, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Two men have been arrested and charged with Massachusetts Crimes of Violence charges in connection with a Milford home invasion on September 29.

Rashad Blount, of Boston, and Richard Booker, of Middleboro, were both arrested this past week and charged with several violent crimes, including Armed Home Invasion, Armed Robbery, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.

According to police, Blount allegedly appeared at the home of the victim identifying himself as a pizza delivery man. A short time later, Booker allegedly entered the home, identifying himself as a police officer. Police also believe a third suspect may have also arrived.

Everett Man Also Charged in Murder of Boston Man in May

Published on: October 26, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Boston Police have arrested a second man in connection with the May Murder of Steven Fuentes.

Anthony Solomon is to be arraigned in the Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court and charged with Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. He is the second defendant charged in connection with this murder. George Ortega, of Lynn, was previously charged and arraigned in September.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, George Ortega and Steven Fuentes confronted each other in front of the victim’s home. The prosecution alleges that there was an “ongoing dispute” between the two men.

Lowell Man Held on Kidnapping and Armed Robbery Charges

Published on: October 12, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

A Lowell man was arraigned in Lowell District Court and charged with several Massachusetts Crimes of Violence charges in connection with an alleged kidnapping of two brothers and their friend in Chelmsford.

The defendant, Bounnee Lakongpheng of Lowell, was charged with Armed Robbery and Kidnapping.

According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Chelmsford police received a call from two people complaining that they had been held against their will at gunpoint in the basement of a Chelmsford home. The victim told police that he, a friend and his brother went to hang out in that basement when they were allegedly threatened by three men. The three man allegedly demanded to know where the money and drugs was or they would kill him.

Topsfield Fair Vendor Charged with Rape of Woman at Fair

Published on: October 10, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

A sausage vendor at the Topsfield Fair was arrested this past week and charged with Rape in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred this past Monday night.

The New Hampshire man, Paul R. Carson, was charged with one count of Rape.

According to police, the alleged sexual assault occurred on the Topsfield fairgrounds in an area not accessible to the public at around 10:30 p.m. The woman reportedly gave a description of her attacker and police arrested the defendant.

Mattapan Brothers Charged with Manslaughter in Boston Stabbing

Published on: October 6, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Two brothers from Mattapan were charged with Massachusetts Murder Crimes Charges last week in connection with the stabbing of 15 year old Lance Hartgrove in Roxbury on July 10, 2012.

The two brothers were arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court and each are charged with Manslaughter and Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, a fight broke out outside the Social Security Administration building in Roxbury. The victim, Lance Hartgrove, armed with a kitchen knife, reportedly went to the building after being called there by a friend. After throwing a glass bottle at a window, Hartgrove went into the building with two others and began fighting with one of the defendants, which eventually spilled outside.

Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal: How Defendants Were Affected and What Can Be Done

Published on: September 28, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

The Massachusetts Department of Health Lab in Jamaica Plain (William A. Hinton Drug Laboratory) was ordered shut down by the governor a few weeks ago when it was discovered that at least one of the chemists at the lab allegedly engaged in malfeasance and violation of protocol with drug samples in criminal cases. The drug lab handled several thousand drug samples seized from criminal drug arrests in multiple counties, including Suffolk County, Middlesex County (until 2009), Bristol County, Worcester County and Norfolk County.

By way of background, when the police seized drugs in criminal cases, the drugs were ultimately sent to the DPH drug lab for testing and confirmation that the substance was, in fact, the certain controlled substance it was thought to be. At the lab, each drug sample was analyzed by one chemist, whose results were then checked by another chemist.

As it turns out, one of the supervising chemists is alleged to have engaged in intentional violation of protocol by tampering with evidence bags; altering the weight of drugs; not calibrating the drug testing machines properly; and even altering drug samples so that they would test as drugs when they were not! This particular chemist, who was employed by the DPH drug lab in Jamaica Plain from 2003 to 2012, is believed to have been involved with as many as 60,000 samples and 182,000 criminal drug cases.

Massachusetts State Trooper Charged with Sexual Assault

Published on: September 17, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

A Massachusetts State Trooper was recently indicted by the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office on Massachusetts Sex Crimes Charges.

The state trooper, who was most recently assigned to the Sturbridge barracks, allegedly assaulted an 18 year old girl four years ago. The Worcester grand jury indicted the Massachusetts trooper with three charges of Indecent Assault and Battery and two counts of Open and Gross Lewdness.

The Massachusetts Sex Crime of Indecent Assault & Battery involves an ‘indecent act’. Massachusetts criminal law defines an indecent act as one that is fundamentally offense to contemporary standards of decency. Typical and most common forms of indecent assault and battery are the inappropriate touching of the private portions of ones anatomy.

Former Somerville Priest Charged with Sexual Abuse of a Child

Published on: September 16, 2012 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

A former priest of an Episcopal church in Somerville was arrested earlier this month on Massachusetts Sex Crimes Charges for allegedly sexually abusing a child over a period of 10 years.

The priest was charged with Assault with Intent to Rape and three counts of Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child.

According to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, the priest allegedly committed the sexual abuse over a 10 year period and reportedly only ceased when he left the church. The alleged sexual abuse began in the 1990’s when the child was in elementary school. The victim recently came forward to the police, which then prompted these charges being filed.