OUI/DUI

Haverhill Man Charged in Motor Vehicle Homicide Suspected of Drunk Driving

Published on: December 13, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Robert Bryant, 50, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was arraigned and charged with Drunk Driving Charges and Motor Vehicle Homicide for striking and killing Cynthia Anne Ray.

According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Ray had gone to the Andover Massachusetts State Police barracks with her mother to file a motor vehicle crash report that involved her husband earlier in the day. As she left the State Police station and headed towards her car, she was struck by a pickup truck. Her mother, not realizing what had happened, ran inside the police station to report that accident. Only when State Police officers responded outside did she discover that it was her daughter that had been struck.

Cynthia Anne Ray was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Ninth Drunk Driving Charge for Rhode Island Man

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

Vernon Perry, of Rhode Island, was arrested in Massachusetts this past Saturday and charged with his ninth (9th) Drunk Driving Charge.

Perry was arraigned in Tauton District Court this morning and charged with Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Subsequent Offense, as well as Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. Following his arraignment, he was held without bail pending a Dangerousness Hearing.

In Massachusetts, a conviction for a 5th or subsequent Drunk Driving charge carries up to 5 years in state prison.

Massachusetts State Trooper Arrested for DUI and Assault on Off-Duty Boston Police Officer

Published on: September 29, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Walsh was arraigned on Monday on DUI-related charges and for pulling his gun on an off-duty Boston Police Officer. He was arraigned this past Monday for Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Illegal Discharge of a Firearm and other related Drunk Driving Charges.

Walsh is alleged to have hit several cars early this past Saturday morning on Boston Street. A Boston Police Officer who lives on the street responded to the incident, and Walsh then allegedly pointed his gun at him. Boston Police further allege that Walsh then went into the Boston Police Officer’s home and fired his gun.

As a result of this incident and his arrest, Walsh was indefinitely suspended without pay. He is an 18 year Army Veteran who served in Afghanistan. At his arraignment in Dorchester District Court, he was released on Personal Recognizance but ordered to remain alcohol-free; submit to random alcohol breath tests, and to submit to a Mental Health Evaluation.

Lowell Man Arraigned in Drunk Driving Death of Off-Duty Lowell Police Officer

Published on: September 13, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Theary Chan, 26, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was arraigned this morning in Lowell District Court on Drunk Driving Charges in connection with the death of Sgt. Patrick Johnson, an off-duty Lowell Police Officer who was struck and killed early Saturday morning.

Middlesex County Prosecutors allege that Chan was was driving drunk when his vehicle blew a stop sign and struck Johnson, was was riding his motorcycle at the intersection of Princeton Boulevard and Foster Street in Lowell.

Chan was arraigned for DUI / Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol and related Drunk Driving charges and bail was set at $5,000. As a result of the Chan allegedly causing the death of another, he could also be prosecuted for Vehicular Homicide.

Methuen Man Charged with OUI and Reckless Driving

Published on: August 31, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Steven S. Kurelko, 35, of Methuen, Massachusetts, was arrested this past weekend by the Massachusetts State Police for Drunk Driving after crashing his car into another that left two women seriously injured.

Kurelko was allegedly driving eastbound on 213 in Methuen when he struck another car sometime around 9 p.m. That other car was occupied by two women, both of Chelmsford, which were flown to Beth Israel Medical Center in Boston with serious injuries.

Very few details surrounding the crash were released, but Massachusetts State Police did report that one of the vehicles rolled over and emergency personnel had to free one of the victims, who was trapped inside the car.

Former Head of Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Busted for Drunk Driving in Harverhill

Published on: August 9, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Matthew Amorello, former State Senator and Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, was arrested late Saturday evening and was scheduled to be arraigned this morning on DUI / OUI Charges and Leaving the Scene of Property Damage.

According to the Haverhill Police Department, Amorello was reportedly driving drunk and collided with several parked vehicles in Haverhill. He further did not immediately pull over, which led to the additional charge of Leaving the Scene of Property Damage. His vehicle was located at a nearby car dealership with a wheel missing and Amorello inside the car alone. It is not believed that Amorello submitted to any Field Sobriety Tests or a Alcohol Breath Test.

OUI/DUI – Drunk Driving Charges:

Lawrence Middle School Coach Charged with Statutory Rape of Student

Published on: August 4, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Tyrone Farrar, 30, was arraigned on Monday in Newburyport District Court on Sex Crimes Charges, including Statutory Rape, for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a female Lawrence Middle School Student.

According to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, Farrar, who works at a Lawrence Middle School as a security guard and serves as a basketball coach, allegedly began having sexual relations with a female student that began when she was 13 years old.

Farrar was arrested this past weekend for Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle and DUI while under the influence of drugs. At the time of his arrest, the female student, now 14 years old, was in the car with him. According to the police, the girl admitted to being sexually involved with Farrar, who is married.

East Boston Drunk Driver Charged with Hitting Massachusetts State Trooper

Published on: July 7, 2010 | by Lefteris K. Travayiakis, Esq.

Felix Morales, 39, of East Boston, Massachusetts, was charged with Drunk Driving and for hitting Massachusetts State Police State Trooper Captain Francis Hughes on Monday, July 5, 2010.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office alleges that State Police Captain Francis Hughes had directed Morales to stop at an intersection in Cambridge when the traffic lights were blinking yellow. Morales, however, did not stop and drove straight at him, struck Trooper Hughes and dragged him on the hood of his car for 30 feet before he was thrown off. Once pulled over, Morales is also alleged to have failed a Field Sobriety Test, posting a Blood Alcohol Content level of 0.15, almost twice the legal limit of 0.08. Morales, it was revealed, had also been twice previously charged with Drunk Driving in Lynn and Revere.

At his arraignment in East Boston District Court, Felix Morales was charged with several Drunk Driving Crimes, including Driving Under the Influence, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon.

Dad Drives Drunk, Crashes with UnBelted Child in Boston

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

Michael Tompkins, 40 of North Weymouth, Massachusetts, was arraigned yesterday morning in Quincy District Court with numerous Drunk Driving charges for driving while under the influence and crashing the car, all with his 6 year old, without a seat belt, in the car.

Tompkins allegedly rear-ended another vehicle last Friday, and then drove away from the scene. The woman whose minivan he hit, then followed him while calling the police. At his arraignment in Quincy District Court, prosecutors alleged that when he was stopped, Tompkins could not stand up without help from the police; slurred his speech; smelled of alcohol and admitted to drinking. Although Tompkins’ 6 year old daughter complained of some pain, it appeared that she was OK.

Held on $2,500 cash bail after his arraignment, Tompkins was charged with numerous Drunk Driving Charges, including DUI/OUI, 3rd Offense; Child Endangerment While Under the Influence of Alcohol; Failing to Properly Restrain a Child in a Vehicle; Failure to Stop for Police; Leaving the Scene of an Accident; and Driving to Endanger.

Court Documents Admitted in Drunk Driving Trial Not Violative of Sixth Amendment’s Right to Confrontation

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

If you have been following this blog, you have seen several recent posts about criminal convictions being reversed as a result of the Melendez-Diaz and Crawford decisions. These decisions have dramatically changed the landscape of permissible ‘testimonial’ evidence against a defendant at trial, but the scope of these decisions is limited.

In the recent case of Commonwealth v. Dale McMullin, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court pulled the reigns, so to speak, on the scope of Melendez-Diaz. The criminal defendant in this case was charged with several drunk driving related offenses, including Operating of a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Liquor, Fourth Offense (M.G.L. c. 90, section 24(1)(a)(1); Operating After Suspension, Second Offense (M.G.L. c. 90, section 23); and Failure to Stop for a Police Officer (M.G.L. c. 90, section 25). After his criminal conviction, the defendant appealed challenging the admissibility, competency and sufficiency of the public records used to establish his prior convictions.

Although the defendant acknowledged that the admissibility of Registry of Motor Vehicle records was permitted by Commonwealth v. Maloney, he argued that the Maloney decision was based on the Confrontation Clause analysis in Commonwealth v. Verde, which was later overturned by Melendez-Diaz.