January 5, 2012

Woman Killed by Cop Car Collision

A woman from has died after being struck by a police car as she was walking home.
The 63-year-old woman was struck by a police cruiser at 10:41 p.m. on a Saturday night as she walked home during a rainstorm, family members and police told a New York Criminal Lawyer.

She was taken directly to the hospital, but was pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m. She was only a few blocks from her home when the accident occurred, during a spate of severe weather.

The officer was also taken to the hospital to treat bruises on his knees. He was since released. He had been patrolling at the time of the incident. According to a Manhattan Criminal Lawyer, the police did not release his name and their investigation is ongoing.

The victim’s family had been hoping to gather at her house for the first night of Passover, only a few nights later. Instead, they will be mourning her passing.

The woman’s son-in-law explained that his mother-in-law was a warm, friendly person. She loved to have people over her home for gatherings. He described her as “very friendly and sunny, and just a very happy person, fun to be around.”

He said she “loved to celebrate the holidays, hosting holiday celebrations. We were supposed to go to her house tomorrow night for the first seder.”

If you or a loved one has charged with a crime, whether it be a sex crime, dug offense or gun possession matter, it is important to seek legal guidance promptly to ensure that your rights are protected.

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October 9, 2011

Music Teacher Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

An Addison County music teacher was arrested on federal child-pornography charges, according to a New York Criminal Lawyer. The teacher told officials about the case to warn them in an effort to calm fears about the seriousness of the claims.
A NY City Criminal Lawyer revealed that there was no evidence that linked the teacher’s crimes to any of the local school children.
Classes at Bristol Elementary School and Robinson Elementary School in Starksboro, where the defendant divides his full-time job, were cancelled for the day, said a NYC Criminal Lawyer, but those in charge began to worry about how to tell the community of the issue and were extremely concerned what local parents and even children would have.
There was a letter meant to be sent home parents. "At this point in the investigation there is no evidence that supports that any of the children in our community were involved in any way," were the words used in the letter, signed by both the school principals. "You are your child's best mentor and guide through this difficult time. You must be the one to decide, if, how and when to discuss this with your child."
The school officials made a promise to parents and those in the community that they would keep everyone up to date on any additional information that arise involving the investigation. School Officials in Manhattan and Long Island would do the same.
The Superintendent was unsure how people would adjust to the news and didn’t know off hand if there would be a special school board meeting in either district; there is not one scheduled until April at the earliest.
The defendant turned himself in Thursday morning to the FBI, according to reports on Monday. The prosecutor in charge of the criminal case called on Wednesday and said his client either could be apprehended that night, or he could turn himself in at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Prosecutors sought to have the accused teacher jailed as a danger to the community and as a risk to leave town. He has restrictions placed on his computer use until his trial.

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September 29, 2011

States Increasingly Want to Collect DNA on Arrest

There is personal, and then there is personal. One of the most personal things that we have is our DNA, reports NY City Criminal Lawyers. DNA defines what we look like, and in many ways, it defines who we are. State and Federal law enforcement agencies have long since taken the fingerprints and mug shots of anyone who has been arrested, but now many states also want to take your DNA sample as well. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to Sex Crimes and the investigation of such.
DNA samples have been an accepted practice in the United States for some time for those who have already been convicted of a crime. A Brooklyn Sex Crimes Lawyer has reported in the past of many instances of where DNA has either convicted or exonerated individuals of crimes.
The concept of taking a DNA sample of anyone who has been arrested for major crimes is nothing new, as there are at least 25 states that already have laws on their books to do just that. One of the more recent states to seek this action is Connecticut. Brooklyn and Manhattan have not joined the others.
Recently, a New Mexico woman travelled to Connecticut to lobby for DNA sampling of those who have been arrested, a New York Criminal Lawyer has learned. On the surface, one may inquire as to why a woman from New Mexico would be doing lobbying for a law that affects the State of Connecticut. The reason is very simple. This New Mexico woman’s daughter was brutally raped, beaten, strangled, and set on fire. The perpetrator of this heinous crime did not have his DNA collected until he had been convicted of an unrelated crime. He had, however, been arrested more than two-years before his conviction, which means the case of the New Mexico woman’s daughter would have been solved long before it was, and would have saved New Mexico authorities more than $200,000 in investigative costs alone.
Connecticut is but the latest in a string of states currently considering this measure, and civil libertarian groups have been arguing that the collection of DNA upon arrest but before a conviction violates a person’s right to privacy and to the presumption of innocence. Regardless of which side of the fence that one chooses to argue, DNA sampling is a viable tool, and will be used for many years to come.

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September 21, 2011

University Baseball Star Faces Rape Trial in The Bahamas

A Florida International University baseball star had his trial and two of his friends put on the fast track by a Bahamian prosecutor, Manhattan Criminal Lawyers have learned. The case is now on its way to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
The next hearing will be on May 9 before a Senior Justice in Nassau. Court sources told Manhattan Criminal Lawyers that the trial will not begin then, however.
An attorney working with the Attorney General’s Office sent a bill of voluntary indictment to a magistrate, court sources reflected. This document allows the court to avoid a preliminary inquiry, instead forwarding the case directly to the Supreme Court. The document also contains sworn statements from the witnesses, which will also be seen by the defense.
This will make the case move more quickly, a court observer told Lawyers. “It’s done in the most serious cases,” the source continued. A rape conviction in the Bahamas can earn a life sentence, dependent upon the injury of the victim. “You can get it, but you don’t often get it,” the source said, referring to the life sentence.
This case involves two American tourists, both 17 years of age, who allege they were raped in December, while staying at a resort. Two of the men in the case are charged with one case of rape, each, while a third man is charged with raping both of the girls. They are all currently out on bond. Their attorney states everything was consensual. The legal age of consent in the Bahamas is 16. A Queens Sex Crimes Lawyer would make a similar argument as would any attorney in Manhattan.
The attorney for the young men had no comment, and the father of one of the accused said he would only discuss the case once it was over. He did say, however, “Anyone can accuse anyone of anything at any time. He’s not doing well, obviously. He’s blown away. He’s devastated that someone would accuse him of this.”
The girls who made the accusations have not been identified to the press, nor have any of them made any comment.

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August 4, 2011

Crime Stories from the Blotter

In Queens, police are hunting for a serial sex predator finally caught on surveillance camera leaving a subway station in Flushing right before his last attack.
He is implicated in at least four attacks since September. Last September 22nd is when he’s believed to have first struck. He grabbed a 37-year-old woman from behind and sexually assaulted her. In December, his victim was a 27-year-old woman on Sanford Avenue. This woman was treated for injuries to her head and face.
His next attack was in February, against a 27-year-old woman on Bowe Street and his latest attack was on April 19, when he assaulted a 24-year-old woman on Colden Street. She was not badly injured. Right before the last attack, the suspect was seen on camera.
A drunk driver was arrested in midtown Manhattan after crashing his car into another vehicle, then jumping the curb to crash into a restaurant, police sources informed NYC Criminal Lawyers.
The 30-year-old driver was driving a 2008 Infiniti on Third Avenue when he rammed into a 2010 Lincoln SUV. He lost control of his car and drove onto the sidewalk, then into a building on Third Avenue, shattering a restaurant window. After the accident, he was arrested and charged with DUI. There were no serious injuries.
A Bronx man choked his ex-girlfriend, even as she held her baby in her arms, authorities told NYC Criminal Lawyers. The 20-year-old suspect pushed the woman and her 6-month-old baby into a bed and began strangling her while the baby cried.
“If you touch the door, this time I won’t hold back!” he allegedly told her.
The victim barely managed to remain conscious and suffered injuries on her neck and broken blood vessels under her eyelids, according to police. The suspect was arrested and charged with strangulation, assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
In Brooklyn, a gunman fired shots on a Flatbush street. One man was killed before the suspect fled the scene.
The 23-year-old victim was standing outside a building on Linden Boulevard at about 11 at night when he was shot in the chest. He was taken to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead

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July 24, 2011

Hate Charges Filed in Rutgers Suicide Case

A freshman student, formerly of Rutgers College, is already in trouble for using a webcam to spy on his roommate’s encounter with another man. Now New York Criminal Lawyers have learned he has been formally charged with a hate crime, along with deleting tweets and texts so as to avoid further implication.
The 19-year-old was indicted in Middlesex County on a total of 15 counts, including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy in the series of events that ended with the suicide of an 18-year-old student in a case that began a national discussion on bullies and the treatment of people of differing sexual orientation.
The 19-year-old student was already dealing with invasion of privacy charges, along with another student at Rutgers. It was a process of months for prosecutors to present the case that the defendant was in fact targeting another student due to his sexual orientation and that this was the basic reason that he broadcast his roommate’s sexual encounter over the internet.
New York Criminal Lawyers note the charges do not specifically say the spying the 19-year-old allegedly engaged in was the cause of his roommate’s death. After the video spread among the other students, the defendant’s then-roommate committed suicide by jumping from the George Washington Bridge.
The most serious of the bias charges could cause the defendant to end up in prison from five to ten years. In Manhattan and Nassau County, these crimes are considered very serious and are treated that way.
A prosecutor in Middlesex County said charges against the young woman considered to be an accomplice to the defendant were not presented to the grand jury. It is unknown yet what course the woman will take – she may go before a grand jury to face charges herself, or she might help the prosecution in the case against the man she helped in the humiliation of another student.

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