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Two individuals were arrested by Cambridge Police earlier this month, following an exchange in which a detective witnessed what he perceived to be a transaction involving a firearm, drugs, or both.

An ununiformed detective spotted one of the individuals, and believed that the individual was concealing a firearm, and after following him witnessed what he believed was a transaction.

When the officer approached the men, they both attempted to flee, but were captured. One of the suspects had a firearm in his backpack, but no license to carry or firearm identification card. After searching both of the men, police recovered a bag containing 20 grams of marijuana and one firearm.
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A Roxbury man was reportedly arrested for the burglary of a Brookline church based on police finding his fingerprints on a candy bowl.

The charges included breaking and entering at night with the intent to commit a felony, larceny from a building, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

The theft was reported by an individual living within the rectory at approximately 3 in the morning. The missing items included a laptop, iPad, flat screen television, and the rectory’s pickup truck.
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Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced that he is mandating a change to Justice Department policy regarding no longer requiring charging of crimes with mandatory minimum sentences in the cases of individuals who have committed low-level, non-violent drug crimes who do not have ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels.The current mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, which were a product of the 1980s war on drugs campaign, severely limit judicial discretion in imposing shorter prison sentences.

Under Holder’s proposal, defendants will be charged with offenses carrying sentences that are more in accordance with their individual conduct, rather than prison sentences, which are more appropriate for violent criminals or high level drug offenders.

Federal prisons are currently operating at an estimated 40% above capacity. Reportedly, some half of the inmates are serving time for drug related crimes, many of whom have some sort of substance abuse disorder. An additional estimated nine to ten million prisoners are processed through local jails each year.

The Attorney General believes that mandatory minimum sentences are counterproductive, don’t necessarily decrease recidivism, and make people distrusting of the justice system.

A group of bipartisan senators recently introduced legislation that would give federal judges more discretion in applying mandatory minimum sentences in certain drug offender cases.

The new approaches are being referred to as the “Smart On Crime” initiative. Additional suggestions include the diversion of state funds toward treatment and supervision, rather than new prison construction.
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Two men accused of committing a hate crime at South Station were arraigned on charges of unarmed robbery, assault and battery, and a civil rights violating with injury in a Boston court late last month.

Both individuals were subsequently held on $15,000 bail.

Investigators claim that the victim of the attack was waiting inside the lobby for the South Station Commuter Rail early one Saturday morning when the two defendants allegedly began yelling homophobic slurs at him without any prior provocation. Transit police say the man ignored the men and eventually asked them to leave him alone. Police say the men then returned five minutes later, at which point they punched the man and stole his phone before fleeing.

The victim was later treated at a local hospital for injuries to his face. Authorities said they used surveillance tape footage in conjunction with the man’s cellphone to locate the suspects.

One of the men admitted to police during questioning that he and the other defendant got into an argument with the victim, during which time he punched the man.
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A woman living in New York has been accused of stealing nearly half a million dollars from One Fund Boston, a fund meant to help victims of the Boston Marathon attack.The woman allegedly submitted extensive documentation showing that she had been admitted to a Boston hospital with a traumatic brain injury.

The notarized documents reportedly demonstrated that the woman had been admitted to the Boston Medical Center for two days, and then transferred to the Albany Medical Center for an additional ten days. The documents included medical records stating that the woman suffered from long-term memory loss, impaired speech, and loss of motor function. She also reportedly claimed that she would require future surgery.

Her claim for $480,000 was approved and paid by One Fun at the end of June. The attorney general has since received a tip that the claim may have been fraudulent. Further investigation revealed that the woman did not check in to either of the hospitals she claimed to have on the dates she claimed. Furthermore, the Attorney General does not believe that the woman was in Boston at the time of the attack.

The woman was arrested last week near her home in New York on a fugitive warrant, and has since been charged with larceny over $250.

Investigators believe that one or two additional individuals may be involved in the alleged scam.
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In Massachusetts, it is a serious offense to operate a motor vehicle after one’s license has been suspended.  However, what people may not be aware of is the different ways that your license or right to drive can be taken away, how long it will be suspended for and what fees you will be required to pay to the Massachusetts Registry, once you have taken steps to have your license reinstated.

The most evident reasons for license suspensions are for serious criminal offenses.  For example, a person convicted of motor vehicular homicide or vehicular manslaughter, will have his or her license suspended for at least fifteen (15) years and, depending on the persons’ record, it could potentially be taken for life.

A license can also be suspended for one (1) to three (3) years if a person is convicted of stealing a motor vehicle, another serious criminal offense. The punishment for driving negligently so as to endanger is a license suspension of 60 days up to one year.  If a person is convicted of leaving the scene of an accident where there is property damage, a license can be suspended for 60 days and up to a year as well.  If there are injuries and a person leaves the scene of the crime, the punishment is even more severe, with suspension ranging from one (1) to two (2) years.  For all of the previous offenses, the reinstatement fee is $500.00 in addition to periods of suspension, which must be served unless the driver is given a hardship license or a suspension reduction by the Board of Appeal for the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

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A United States Attorney recently announced that an alleged Chinatown crime boss has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for his involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and prostitution related criminal activities.The U.S. Attorney said in a statement that the defendant, Wei Xing Chen, pleaded guilty in April to conspiring to the following charges:

  • money-laundering;
  • inducing travel for the purpose of prostitution;
  • conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and benzylpiperazine (BZP), both are forms of the street drug ecstacy;
  • and possession with intent to distribute BZP.

The defendant was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 70 months in prison, with two subsequent years of supervised release, an additional $1,000 fine, and forfeiture of his Mercedes and $8,000 in cash.

The U.S. Attorney further reported that a co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty last November to his involvement in the prostitution ring, and was sentenced to two years of probation including six months of home detention.

In a separate sworn statement, the government revealed that the two defendants were among 26 individuals initially indicted in 2011, following a long term FBI investigation into organized crime within Chinatown. In addition to the indictments, government officials also seized 13 guns, $340,000 in cash, and nearly 13,000 of what they believed to be oxycodone pills, in addition to “extensive evidence” of prostitution and illegal gambling.
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If this is your first time being charged with Operating Under the Influence, or OUI, you may be feeling incredibly stressed and uncertain of what’s to come. There are also some things you should know about the nature of the allegations against you.First and foremost, even in the case of a first offense, OUI is deemed a criminal offense. The crime itself is defined as a person operating a motor vehicle (which can include a boat or other vehicle, not only a car), while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Keep in mind also that “operating a vehicle” does not necessarily mean driving on the street. Depending upon the circumstances, even sitting within a car to sober up could be considered operating a vehicle, depending upon the officer’s impression of your behavior, and also the surrounding factual circumstances. In other words, it doesn’t take erratic driving or a dramatic car crash to potentially implicate these charges.

The state of Massachusetts felt that current law was not harsh enough on drivers found guilty of OUI, so in 2005 it passed Melanie’s Law, increasing the penalties for OUI cases. Due to the state’s stance on these types of cases, it is of the utmost importance that you hire a Massachusetts defense lawyer who is knowledgeable about the nature of the charges, and also experienced in representing individuals charged with OUI offenses.

For example, an experienced Massachusetts OUI defense attorney may successfully be able to reduce the potential sentence you are facing as a first time offender from a maximum of two and a half years in jail, a $5,000 fine, and a five year license suspension, to a state-approved alcohol education program. This reduction is not possible after the first offense, and it is not a default reduction. That means the court will not automatically grant it; your attorney will have to secure it for you.
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According to reports, Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was denied release on his first degree murder charge during his appeal to be released on bail.The decision, which was handed down by a superior court judge upheld the prior ruling of a district court judge shortly following Hernandez’s arraignment for the murder charge and five additional weapons charges in relation to the alleged killing of Odin Lloyd. The evidence for weapons charges allegedly stems from the recovery of .22 and .45 caliber ammunition recovered from a condo where Hernandez had allegedly been present recently.

In the ruling, the judge expressed the opinion that although circumstantial, the current evidence suggests that Hernandez committed the crime in a cold-blooded manner, suggesting that he does not conform to societal rules, and is therefore a potential flight risk should he be released on bail.

Hernandez’s next scheduled appearance in relation to the charges is tentatively set for July 24 for a probable cause hearing, although there is a chance that prosecutors could schedule a grand jury prior to then in order to proceed with a formal indictment.
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Melanie’s Law was enacted to impose harsher penalties and sanctions against people that are charged with Operating Under the Influence in Massachusetts. The law has created new offenses that were not present prior to 2005 when it was signed into law. For instance, if someone who already has their license suspended for a previous operating under the influence (OUI), is arrested for operating under the influence again, they may now be charged with two offenses at the same time: OUI and OUI with a suspended license. This charge requires a mandatory jail sentence of at least one year and can be up to two and a half years, as well as a fine between $2,500-$10,000. In addition, a new crime was created for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol while there was child under the age of 14 in the vehicle. The driver can be charged with not only OUI, but also child endangerment while OUI. The punishment for a first offense is 90 days to 2.5 years imprisonment, a fine between $1,000-$5,000, as well as a yearlong suspension of the driver’s license. The crime of Manslaughter by Motor Vehicle was also created and implemented by Melanie’s Law. If a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol while operating a vehicle commits manslaughter, the driver will be charged with Manslaughter by Motor Vehicle. The minimum sentence is 5 years imprisonment and can be up to 20 years, as well as a fine up to $25,000.

Under Melanie’s Law, if a person has been convicted of OUI two (2) times, and is eligible for a hardship license, or in order to have their license reinstated, the driver will be required to have an Ignition Interlock Device installed in any vehicle that that person owns, leases or operates. The driver is required to pay for the expenses to install the device as well. The device requires that the driver have a blood alcohol reading of less than .02 in order for the vehicle to start. If the driver registers higher than .02, the vehicle will not start. The driver must report to company that installed the device every 30 days at which point the vendor uploads the data from the device and transmits it to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. If the device is necessary under the hardship license requirement, then the device must be used for the entire life of the hardship license, as well as an additional two (2) years after the license has been reinstated. If the driver is simply eligible for license reinstatement, then the device will be required for a mandatory two years. If the driver does not comply with the requirements, their license will be revoked for a minimum of 10 years, with the possibility of the revocation being for life.

Melanie’s Law does not specifically relate to just OUI offenders either. It is also applicable to persons that allow or hire an unlicensed individual or an individual with a suspended license to operate a motor vehicle. If an employer hires an individual with a suspended license to operate a motor vehicle, there is a $500 fine for the first offense, and up to one year in jail for a second offense. If person that owns or is in possession of a vehicle allows an individual that is unlicensed to operate the vehicle, the first offense is a sentence of one-year imprisonment and a fine up to $500. The same penalty is applicable if someone allows a person with an Ignition Interlock restriction to operate a vehicle without the device.
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