Kidnapping – Not Guilty
Our client was involved in a two-month long romantic relationship with a woman he met at work. One night, she was visiting him at his Lowell apartment and they began arguing. According to the girlfriend, when she tried to leave, our client dragged her into his apartment and held her captive for nearly an hour. Our client allegedly took her phone and pinned her against the wall, with both hands around her neck. Our client was arrested and the allegations were serious enough that the judge ordered him to be held in jail until the trial. At trial, we cross-examined the girlfriend about multiple inconsistencies in the various statements she made about the incident. We forced her to acknowledge that some of her testimony during her direct examination was false. And we confronted her about the discrepancies between her trial testimony and the statement she gave the police. We then called the police officer to testify she did not witness any injuries on the girlfriend the following day. A jury found our client not guilty of kidnapping, intimidation of a witness, and assault and battery on a family or household member.
Stalking – Not Guilty
Our client, who is married, had an affair that lasted several years. After the affair ended, the relationship between our client and his former mistress became extremely hostile. The mistress reported to the police that our client called her repeatedly and threatened to harm her. She also reported that our client had planted cocaine in her car and had her arrested, that he attempted to get her fired from her job, and that he broke into her apartment when she wasn’t home. At trial, several police officers testified that their investigation supported the mistress’ story. Our client’s phone records established that our client called the mistress over and over again even after she obtained a restraining order against him. The phone records also proved that our client called the police and reported that the mistress had cocaine in her car. The police later concluded that our client had planted the cocaine. Finally, the Commonwealth played audio recordings of our client making threats against the mistress in phone conversations. Our client was indicted and charged with felony counts of stalking and stalking in violation of a restraining order. Following a trial, a Middlesex Superior Court jury found our client not guilty of the two stalking charges.
Assault and Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury – Not Guilty
After an evening of drinking in Boston, our client was involved in a verbal altercation with an acquaintance. During the argument, our client allegedly smashed the acquaintance’s face with a beer bottle. A struggle ensued, and our client bit the acquaintance in the stomach several times, causing serious injuries and permanent scarring. The acquaintance went to the emergency room for treatment of his injuries. His medical records and photographs of his injuries were admitted at our client’s trial. We argued that our client was simply defending himself and any force he used during the altercation was reasonable and necessary. The Boston Municipal Court jury found our client not guilty of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (beer bottle).
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our middle-aged male client was involved in an argument with a female acquaintance of his daughter. During the argument, our client admitted to punching the woman numerous times in the face. The woman also alleged that our client and his daughter struck her approximately 20 times with a barstool. At trial, the government introduced photographs of the woman’s face, which was badly bruised and bloody. The woman’s medical records established that she suffered a broken nose. The woman’s clothes were soaked with her own blood and her blood was splattered all over her apartment. The woman’s neighbor offered testimony that corroborated the woman’s story. Our client was not injured. At trial, we argued that our client used reasonable force to defend himself and his daughter. The Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (bar stool) and not guilty of assault and battery.
Criminal Harassment – Not Guilty
Our client and the alleged victim worked together. According to our client, they had a romantic relationship that resulted in her pregnancy. According to the alleged victim, they never had a romantic relationship of any kind and our client stalked him for years. The police obtained phone records that suggested a phone number associated with our client had been calling the alleged victim hundreds of times over a short period. The alleged victim also asserted that our client followed him home from work and sent anonymous letters to his family members. Following a jury trial in Newburyport District Court, our client was found not guilty of criminal harassment.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client was an independent truck driver who was responsible for making a delivery to a Market Basket warehouse during a labor strike. When he tried to leave the warehouse, the picketers blocked his exit and screamed obscenities at him. Our client parked his truck, got out of the cabin, and walked toward the picketers while holding a hammer. The police intervened and tackled our client before he reached the protesters. The entire incident was captured on videotape. He was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct. Following a jury trial in Lowell District Court, he was found not guilty of both charges.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
The police responded to our client’s house to investigate an ongoing dispute between our client’s family and his neighbors. Our client told the police to get off of his property. When the police left his home to talk to his neighbors, our client got into his truck, which was parked in the driveway, and attempted to speed away. There was a police officer at the end of his driveway waving his arms and yelling at him to stop, and our client struck the officer with his car. The collision between our client’s car and the police officer was captured on a surveillance video that was shown to the jury. The officer testified that our client made eye contact with him and intentionally drove his truck into him. Our client testified that he did not see the officer until after the collision. The Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and not guilty of failing to stop for a police officer.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client was walking his pet pit bull down a busy city street. The dog was barking, growling, and lunging at pedestrians on the sidewalk. A police officer witnessed the dog’s behavior and instructed our client to stop walking. Our client ignored the police officer and continued to walk the dog. The police officer approached our client and our client allegedly allowed the pit bull to lunge at the officer. Animal control officers arrived and took custody of the dog. The police officer then attempted to place our client under arrest and our client physically fought him and several other officers who arrived on the scene. It took six police officers to finally handcuff our client. Following a jury trial in Lowell District Court, our client was found not guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon (the pit bull) and not guilty of resisting arrest.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client was exiting a nightclub when a fight broke out in a parking lot across the street. The victim was attacked by several men. He sustained serious head injuries and all of the windows in his car were smashed with a baseball bat. The victim and a security officer positively identified our client as the prime attacker. In addition to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, our client was charged with malicious destruction of property over $250 and assault and battery. The jury found our client not guilty of all charges.
Assault and Battery – Not Guilty
Our client’s ex-girlfriend reported to the police that our client had beaten her. She told the police that during an argument, our client had punched her in the face and destroyed her apartment. A police officer observed swelling to the ex-girlfriend’s face. After trial, our client was found not guilty of assault and battery.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client has a long history of suffering from mental health illnesses. On the date in question, the police were called to our client’s home, who was reportedly suicidal. Upon arrival, the cops found our client on the front steps of his home, swinging a hatchet and demanding that the officers shoot him. Instead, the police tased him and ultimately took him into custody. He was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. We hired a doctor who examined our client and determined he was not criminally responsible (which is the same as temporarily insane). We went to trial in Lowell District Court and the client was found not guilty of the crime by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
A woman reported to the police that she had been involved in a fight with two women, including our client. An argument had started when the victim was involved in a road rage dispute with our client’s boyfriend while driving through a local city. Following the road rage incident, our client allegedly went to the victim’s house, knocked on her door, and hit her in the head with a baseball bat. The victim had injuries confirming she had been hit in the head. Our client denied she was involved in the attack. At trial, we argued that the victim’s story was unreliable in part because of her mental health diagnoses. We confronted her with inconsistent stories she told about the incident to the police and the hospital staff. A Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
The fire department was called to our client’s home to extinguish a fire our client had started in his back yard. When the fire truck arrived, our client allegedly told a firefighter that he was going to “sic” his dog on him. The police arrived shortly thereafter and reported that our client was screaming and creating a disturbance. When a police officer attempted to arrest our client, he allegedly struggled with the officer until the officer sprayed him with pepper spray. After trial in Ayer District Court, our client was found not guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon (a dog), not guilty of interfering with a firefighter, and not guilty of resisting arrest.
Assault and Battery – Not Guilty
Our client is a small business owner and during the midst of the pandemic, a belligerent customer entered his store. The customer was complaining about being assessed a charge and repeatedly took off his mask while yelling and pointing at our client’s employees. Our client finally told the customer he would waive the fee but ordered him to leave the store. Instead, the customer continued to argue and did not make his way toward the exit. Our client escorted him to the exit and while closing the door, made contact with the customer’s hand, causing the customer to fall and break his phone. Our client was charged with assault and battery along with wanton destruction of property. Following a trial in Clinton District Court, our client was found not guilty of both charges.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client was involved in an altercation with another man in Lowell. When the the police showed up, the two men were circling one another and our client was brandishing a knife. The cops tried to break up the fight, but the other man was so belligerent that he was tased by the police. Ultimately, both men were arrested. We went to trial and introduced evidence that the other man had started the fight while our client was trying to deescalate the situation. A Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon (a knife) and disorderly conduct.
Assault and Battery on a Police Officer – Not Guilty
Our client was arrested for a motor vehicle infraction. After he was booked and placed in a cell, he allegedly became verbally abusive toward several police officers. The officers entered his cell and reported that our client punched two officers several times and threatened to hurt any officer he later saw on the street. He was charged with two counts of assault and battery on a police officer and one count of threatening to commit a crime. A Lowell District Court jury found him not guilty of all charges after trial.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Our client was involved in a long-term volatile relationship with a woman who had a history of violent behavior. One day as they were arguing in the woman’s home, she began stabbing our client in the arm with a knife. In response, our client threw a plastic bottle at the girlfriend and hit her in the head. Our client and the girlfriend were transported to separate hospitals where they both received stitches. At trial, the Commonwealth’s theory of the case was that our client had stabbed himself with the knife, and the girlfriend was the victim of domestic violence. We presented evidence through independent witnesses (including a police officer) that the girlfriend had committed violent assaults in the previous year (including an admitted assault against our client). The Cambridge District Court jury found our client not guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
Assault and Battery – Not Guilty
Our client and his girlfriend were arguing outside of their home. Two EMT workers called the police and said they saw our client punch his girlfriend several times in the neck area. They reported that our client’s girlfriend was lying in the fetal position on the ground. When the police arrived, the girlfriend was disoriented and her clothes were ripped. The police arrested our client. After trial, the Cambridge District Court jury found our client not guilty.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
An acquaintance of our client reported to the police that our client and two other women had punched and kicked her outside of her house. The police found our client a few blocks away and arrested her. After trial, a jury found our client not guilty.
Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member – Not Guilty
Our 19-year-old client and his 17-year-old girlfriend were arguing one night at the girlfriend’s house. Our client tried to leave and the girlfriend grabbed him by his clothes, ripping his shirt and sweatshirt. Our client pushed her hands away and left. The girlfriend called the police and alleged our client had thrown her into a wall and strangled her. Pictures of her neck revealed there were no visible injuries. The girlfriend then repeatedly tried to contact our client (who had been ordered to have no contact with her) and left him an obscenity-filled voicemail when he refused to talk to her. A Concord District Court jury took under an hour to find our client not guilty.
Assault and Battery – Not Guilty
Our client was involved in an argument with the landlord of an apartment building. The landlord told the police that during the argument, our client shoved him down a set of stairs. The police officers observed injuries to the landlord that were consistent with his story. The police interviewed our client at the scene, who was intoxicated and belligerent. The Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty.
Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Not Guilty
Two police officers on routine patrol witnessed our client’s girlfriend run from her apartment building. The officers then saw our client chase his girlfriend and begin hitting her in the head with a shoe. The police officers immediately confronted our client, who allegedly fought and struggled as he was being placed under arrest. We called our client’s girlfriend to testify that she didn’t believe our client had intentionally struck her. The girlfriend also testified that the police officers roughed up our client as they arrested him. In addition to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, our client was charged with resisting arrest. The Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty of both charges.
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Knife) – Not Guilty
Our client and his adult son were sitting on a bench in a local city when the complaining witness walked by. Our client’s family and the complaining witness had experienced previous problems and allegations of violence. According to the complaining witness, our client and his son stood up, took knives out of their pockets, and chased him for approximately 10 minutes. A police officer testified at trial that the complaining witness was out of breath and appeared scared immediately after the incident. The complaining witness gave detailed descriptions of the knives that our client and his son allegedly brandished. A subsequent search of our client and his son revealed that both were carrying knives that matched the description given by the complaining witness. Our client was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. At trial, a Lowell District Court jury found our client not guilty.
Assault and Battery on a Household Member – Not Guilty
Our client and his wife were beginning to consider a divorce, as they had been frequently arguing. One night, the wife came home late and began bickering with our client. According to the wife, our client became irate and kicked her cell phone out of her hand. A police officer responded to the scene and arrested our client. At trial, Attorney Spring confronted the wife with inconsistencies in her story and pointed out that the police officer did not observe injuries that were consistent with the wife’s story. The jury took less than 10 minutes to find our client not guilty of assault and battery on a household member.