Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

Eduardo Torres, 48, of Marlboro, was pulled over Saturday morning, September 24, for an expired inspection sticker. The officer noticed to open beer bottles and the smell of alcohol on his breath. After failing field sobriety tests Torres was arrested for being under the influence of alcohol. He has three prior alcohol-related offenses from California and to prior operating under the influence charges in Massachusetts, he was charged with a sixth offense OUI.

Torres was previously ordered deported by immigration and will be handed over to federal authorities after his criminal case is completed. The incident along with others involving illegal immigrants have drawn a lot of publicity to those immigrants who are here illegally and drive without a license or commit criminal offenses. Sheriff's from local communities are using these latest incidents to draw attention to the secure communities program. The secure communities program requires that police run a suspects fingerprints through a database and alert federal officials if it is determined that the suspect is not the US with proper authorization.

Continue reading "A native of Mexico was arrested in Boxborough Massachusetts for a sixth offense of operating under the influence of alcohol (OUI) he was also wanted related to an order for removal by immigration since he is here illegally" »

This took place after a national effort to find and remove illegal immigrants with prior criminal convictions some with multiple criminal convictions. US immigration and customs enforcement better known as ICE conducted a nationwide sweep that lasted seven days which detained immigrants with felony convictions such as: manslaughter attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, drug trafficking, child abuse, sexual crimes and aggravated assault. ICE named this operation crosscheck and said it was the largest of its kind involved over 1900 officers and agents from the 24 field offices with police organizations offering assistance.

19 arrests occurred in Boston, many of those arrested were already considered immigration fugitives in that they had been previously ordered removed from the country but failed to leave, some had been previously deported and had reentered illegally.

Continue reading "A federal immigration sweep has led to the detention of over 2900 illegal immigrants in the US 62 of which were located in Massachusetts and detained for removal" »

Cara Dellabarba, 28, of Weymouth attempt to drive home after celebrating a friend's 30th birthday party at the old colony yacht club in Dorchester. She ended up driving the wrong way down Morrissey Boulevard and striking a state trooper's vehicle while he was inside it. Her car then drove over a traffic island and its is reported she attempted to drive away but the car was disabled.

She admitted to the state trooper that she drank a lot while at the club and stated that she realizes what happened but can she be allowed to go home. The state trooper suffered minor injuries from his vehicle being struck. Since January 1, 2010, 45 state troopers have been injured by motorists, half of these accidents have been caused by people operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Continue reading "Weymouth woman charged with drunk driving after driving wrong way down Morrissey Boulevard and crashing into state trooper" »

Two teenage girls in Somerville died after a car accident Friday morning at approximately 3:30 AM. Kenneth Belew, 21, of Somerville was driving under the influence of alcohol and a high rate of speed on the McGrath O'Brien Highway overpass when his car lost control and collided with the cement safety wall. Five passengers were in the vehicle, two female teenagers who were not wearing seatbelts died of their injuries. Police have not yet released the names of the victims.

The driver Belew was arraigned this morning in Somerville District Court for operating under the influence of alcohol, vehicular homicide, speeding and marked lane violation. He was held on $5,000 cash bail.

Continue reading "21-year-old in Somerville charged with motor vehicle homicide and drunk driving after early morning accident on Sunday on the McGrath Highway" »

Wayne Leduc, 40, pleaded not guilty to charges of operating under the influence of liquor, operating negligently to endanger, failure to move over for an emergency vehicle, and marked lanes violation in Quincy District Court. Bail was set at $1500.

These charges stem from trooper Brian Berry, 43, pulling over another vehicle at 4:30 AM on I 93 northbound near exit 9 in Quincy. Trooper Barry was standing in front of his cruiser during the traffic stop when Leduc crashed into the rear of the trooper's vehicle propelling the trooper's car into him causing leg injuries.

Continue reading "A Milton man pleaded not guilty to drunk driving and other charges in Quincy District Court related to an accident which injured a state trooper" »

Michael Ciarlone, 54, is accused in Chelsea District Court of using his truck with a plow to push snow around a vehicle that he believed parked in his spot. When the vehicle owner and other neighbors came out to confront him he pinned a neighbor with his truck and then kicked him in the head. He's accused of striking another man breaking his glasses.

These assaults occurred last month but the defendant was arraigned today in Chelsea District Court. The police claim that the defendant was intoxicated when they arrived he was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property and operating under the influence.

Continue reading "Revere man charged with assault on his neighbors over a disputed parking spot" »

Robert McGillivary appealed his conviction of OUI 4th offense based on the fact that he had merely turned the key in the ignition to start the electricity in the car and argued to the court that this was not enough to show operation of the vehicle.

The Court of Appeals disagreed with him and decided that turning the key was in act that was enough for a jury to convict him of operating under the influence.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Court of Appeals upholds conviction for drunk driving charge where only evidence of operation was that the defendant turned the key to turn on the electricity in the vehicle" »

John McCarthy, 61, and MBTA bus driver rear-ended a vehicle Friday night while working driving and MBTA bus in Somerville. No serious injuries resulted to either passengers on the bus or in the other vehicle. Mr. McCartney was found to have open bottle of vodka in his back pocket, police charged him with operating under the influence.

Mr. McCarthy was said to have failed field sobriety tests at the scene. The MBTA plans on firing Mr. McCarthy based on what has been reported. He was arraigned this morning in Somerville District Court and released on personal recognizance.

Continue reading "MBTA bus driver charged with drunk driving after bus accident in Somerville" »

Matt Amorello the former chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority admitted in Haverhill district court to operating under the influence related to a car crash back in August in which he struck two parked vehicles and then continued to try and drive his vehicle after one of the wheels had fallen off. He refused the breathalyzer at the time, causing a loss of license for 180 days and today received a further 45 day loss of license after making his admission.

Amorello was charged with Operating under the influence in Massachusetts, as a first time offender he is eligible to receive an alternative disposition which allows for a person to waive his rights to a trial and make an admission at which time a Judge may not find him guilty but rather continue the case without a finding (known as a CWOF) usually for a one year period in which the person is on probation. An alcohol class must be completed, it is essentially a drunk driving course which is one evening a week for approximately sixteen weeks. The drunk driving charge carries fines and fees totaling close to one thousand dollars. Once a person signs up for the Alcohol course they then can apply for a hardship license also known as a Cinderella license which allows a driver to drive for a twelve hour period every day. If the person pays all the fines and completes the program and probation without picking up any new charges the case will be dismissed at the end of the term of probation.

Continue reading "Amorello admits to operating under the influence (OUI) in Haverhill district court related to a car crash in August" »

A Missouri man whose car slipped off an icy road had to wait two hours before emergency workers arrived to help him. When police arrived they found him intoxicated. A jury found him not guilty based on his testifying that he did not drink alcohol before driving but only after he slipped off the icy road and was waiting for help. He drank to keep warm until help arrived.

In Massachusetts the Commonwealth to prove operating under the influence, or OUI, (DUI), has to show that you were impaired by alcohol and were driving on a public way while impaired. Usually this evidence comes in the form of a police officer observing how a suspect was driving, then pulling the person over and testifying to how that person appeared, smelled, acted and what he said during the stop and field sobriety tests. It is not usual for such a long period of time to pass between an accident and when help arrives that a person can claim that the act of drinking took place after the accident while awaiting the police.

Continue reading "Drunk to stay warm defense works against drunk driving charge" »