Category : Attempted Murder

Federal Charges Filed Against Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect

Federal Charges Filed Against Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect

Government authorities have apprehended and charged 19 year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspects in the Boston marathon bombings, which took place on Monday April 15, 2013. The suspect was taken to an area hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds to his head, neck, legs and hand. The other suspect, 26 year old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and the older brother of suspect Dzhorkhar Tasrnaev, was killed in a gun battle between police on Thursday April 18, 2013, in Watertown after police found a car stolen earlier in the evening by the suspects during a carjacking. The man whose car had been carjacked told police that the suspects forced him to withdraw money from an ATM. He was later able to escape when the suspects stopped for gas.

Authorities were able to identify the suspects through security cameras with video and still images, which showed the two brothers carrying and placing two backpacks near the finish line of the Boston Marathon race containing pressure cooker bombs that exploded through the crowd, killing three people and wounding more than 200, many of whom lost limbs and some whom are still being treated at area hospitals. Authorities have decided to use the “public safety exception instead of giving Dzhokhar his Miranda rights in order to question and obtain information from him as to the motives and whether others were involved.  According to government officials, although the suspect is unable to speak as the result of a wound to his throat, he communicated to investigators that he and his brother acted alone and that they learned how to make bombs on the Internet.  A 10 page complaint has been filed charging Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with two federal charges – conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property with an explosive device and could face the death penalty.

A lawyer for the widow of deceased suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, says she knew nothing about her husband’s involvement in the bombings until she learned about it on television like everyone else. FBI investigators visited the lawyer at her parent’s home in Rhode Island on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Investigators are looking into possible motives and whether the brothers had ties to Islamic terror cells. Of particular interest to investigators is a sixth month period that Tamerlan Tsarnaev spent in a predominately Muslim province of Dagestan and Chechnya to determine if he may have been radicalized by militants in the area.

Facing Terrorist Charges

After 911, federal and Massachusetts laws and penalties have become stricter regarding acts of terrorism in the United States. Law enforcement agencies have been working together to stop terrorism plots and activities and prosecutors are vigorously prosecuting those accused of committing terrorist acts.

If convicted of a crime of terrorism such as using weapons of mass destruction, you could face life in prison without parole or the death sentence when victims are massacred such as in the case of the Boston Marathon bombings. Even if you did not commit a terrorist act, you could still be charged with related charges of aiding a known terrorist or hindering a prosecution resulting in jail time and/or other penalties or fines. If you believe that you are the target of an investigation relating to a terrorist act or you have been charged with terrorism or related offenses, these are serious charges that require the representation of an experienced and skilled criminal defense attorney

Sacramento Domestic Violence

Sacramento Domestic Violence

A 36 year old Sacramento man was arrested for allegedly killing his 9 year old son with a hatchet while his son was sleeping on a couch.  Police were called to the scene of a North Sacramento home on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, where they found the victim dead. According to police, another resident of the home heard glass shatter and found the victim. The accused has served time in prison for domestic violence, and was involved in a bitter custody battle with the child’s mother. He is being held in jail and will be arraigned on Friday March 1, 2013.

 

California Domestic Violence Laws

Domestic violence incidents involve an assault, battery, sexual assault, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any physical injury or death committed by an individual against a spouse or former spouse, family member or relative, person they are currently having a relationship with or have had a past relationship with, or someone living in the same house. You could face felony domestic violence charges, a misdemeanor battery charge or a murder charge if you kill the victim. Under California penal code Section 422, even making a threat to harm a victim is also considered a domestic violence crime.

Sentencing and Penalties

A conviction for a misdemeanor domestic violence offense means you could face a minimum 30 day jail sentence and/or community service as well as having to attend a mandatory 52 week batter’s class. You could receive one year in county jail or two to four years in state prison and/or a fine up to $6,000 for a felony domestic violence conviction. For a murder conviction, you could face 15 years to life in a California state prison or life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.  Under California’s three strikes law, you could receive a mandatory 25 years to life prison sentence if you are convicted in California of three felony crimes.

Sacramento Domestic Violence Attorney

If you have been arrested for a domestic violence offense or murder in Sacramento, you will need the expertise of an experienced Sacramento domestic violence attorney to help you fight your charges. At Imhoff & Associates-Criminal Attorneys, we understand the seriousness of such charges and the impact a conviction can have on your life and your family.  A good domestic violence criminal defense attorney will investigate the evidence against you, interview witness and negotiate with the prosecutor to either get your charges reduced to a lesser crime, get your alternative sentencing or get your charges dismissed, depending on your case situation.

 

 

 

 

 

Law Firm Shooting in Arizona

 

Law Firm Shooting in Arizona

According to Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson, a 70 year old suspected gunman named Arthur Douglas Harmon, killed Steve Singer, 48, chief executive officer at a call center and defendant in a lawsuit which Harmon filed over furniture that Harmon’s company, Reback Design, had refurbished, during a mediation session at a Phoenix office building on Wednesday, January 30, 2013.  Also shot was litigator Mark Hummels of the Law Firm Osborn Maledon and President of the Phoenix Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Singer’s attorney. Mr. Hummels is not expected to survive. Thompson said the two men were targeted by the shooter. A 32-year-old woman was also treated for a non-life threatening injury and two additional persons people were taken to the hospital and treated for “stress related symptoms.”

Harmon fled the scene in a rental car, while firing a weapon at a witness who pursued him. The witness was not injured.  Harmon’s body was found by a landscaper on Thursday January 31, 2013, in the bushes of a Mesa shopping center. He appears to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  A handgun was also found at the scene.

This shooting comes after heightened awareness and heated national debates over gun control as a result of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting incident in December 2012, which resulted in the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is also currently conducting hearings in Washington on proposed gun control measures, including background checks.

Arizona Gun Violence Crimes

Statistics reflect that Arizona ranks high in gun deaths. This may be explained by the fact that Arizona is one of the leading states in the nation for gun ownership. If you commit a gun violence crime in Arizona resulting in the death or serious injury of someone, you could be charged with murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter, aggravated assault or other offenses. Prosecutors prosecute such crimes to the fullest extent of the law. You could face long prison sentences, including life in prison without the possibility of parole or even the death penalty, fines and have to pay restitution to the victim’s family.  A good criminal defense attorney can help you fight the charges.

Hiring an Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney

Facing gun violence charges in Arizona are considered quite serious. It is recommended you hire an experienced and knowledgeable Arizona criminal defense attorney to represent you. At Imhoff & Associates-Criminal Attorneys, we have years of experience representing clients charged with murder, homicide, aggravated assault, robbery or related gun violence crimes. We work aggressively to achieve the best case results for our clients. Your Imhoff criminal defense attorney will investigate the evidence against you, interview witnesses and build a strong defense arguing a variety of defenses to get your charges reduced to a lesser crime, get you alternative sentencing or raise reasonable doubt so you may be able to avoid a conviction or get your charges dropped.

Decrease in New York City Murder Rate

According to a Daily News story reported on November 17, 2009, murders are down in New York City. There were 399 murders compared to 452 homicides same time last year, which is an 11% decrease. Even with the number of cases down, the number of cases solved is now only around 50% compared to 70% two years ago and 92.5% in 1998. New York police sources who were interviewed in the article attribute the decrease in the number of cases being solved to the fact that there are fewer police officers and detectives, and there has been more emphasis and focus on fighting terrorism. Police investigators say that red tape, more paperwork and cracking down on overtime is making it more difficult to solve crimes as well.

If you are arrested for murder in New York, you can be charged under New York Penal Code, Article Section 125.25, with murder in the second degree or under Section 125.27 with murder in the first degree, which are Class A-1 felonies. Murder in the second degree is when a person causes or intends to cause the death of another person. A death that results during the commission of a felony such as robbery, rape whether the person is acting alone or in group is also considered murder in the second degree and is punishable with 15 years imprisonment life and a fine up to $15,000. Murder in the first degree is when a person causes or intends to cause the death of a person and that person is a police officer, a peace officer, employee of a correctional institution,  a person who was a witness to a crime and the death was intended so the witness could not testify or was retribution for previous testimony of a crime or to preventing or influence the person not to testify by killing an immediate family member, there is a contract for murder between the defendant and another person, the defendant acted in an unusually cruel manner by inflicting torture on the victim, the victim was a judge or the defendant committed an act of terrorism causing the victim’s death.  You could face a sentence of 15-25 years in prison, a life sentence without parole or the death sentence for a first degree murder conviction.

Case Example:

On November 19, 2009, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the murder convictions of two men, Danny Colon, 45 and Anthony Ortiz, 39 who have each been serving prison sentences of 19 years for the drive-by-shooting and murders of two men and two others who were injured on December 8, 1989 in lower Manhattan. The incident was said to have been drug related. The two defendants received 25 years to life sentences. The Appeals Court has ordered new trials for the men ruling that the Manhattan prosecutor improperly withheld information from the defense attorneys and misled the jury.

At the 1993 trial in the New York State Supreme Court, the prosecution presented to witnesses, one was Anibal Vera, who was a childhood friend of Colon. Vera testified that Colon confessed to the killings and that Ortiz helped him. Vera was cooperating with prosecutors because he had been arrested for drug possession in 1990. The prosecutor in the Colon and Ortiz cases, Ms. Finerty, told jurors she did not help or have anything to do with the lenient two and one-half year to five year sentence that Vera received for his conviction. However, Judge Graffeo wrote in the  recent Appellate decision that Ms. Finerty helped relocate Vera’s grandmother and that she failed to give defense lawyers notes from her interviews with two witnesses who identified other men as the killers. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is standing by the convictions which they claim were obtained fairly.

A charge of murder in the second degree or murder in the first degree in New York is a serious crime. It is recommended that you hire a New York criminal defense attorney to defend you. If the crime was committed and there was another person involved or committed in a group and you were part of the group, the attorney can argue a defense that you did not commit it or aid in the crime, that you were not armed with a deadly weapon and had no evidence or reason to believe that any others in the group were carrying a deadly weapon or were going to commit murder or seriously injure the victim. Other defenses that your attorney can argue if you are accused of committing a murder crime alone are insanity, duress or self-defense in order to get the charges reduced and dismissed. The attorney may challenge the testimony of forensic experts such as medical examiners, ballistics, fingerprint examiners, toxicolologists, chemists and crime scene investigators or argue that the prosecuting attorney withheld evidence or violated other procedural rules when applicable to get the charges dismissed.

Arrests Commence in Palo Alto Shooting

San Jose/Palo Alto, Santa Clara County: A man was taken into custody by East Palo Alto police for allegedly shooting a man multiple times on the 25000 block of Fordham Street. The suspect was processed and then charged with Attempted Murder. Because a second suspect is still pending apprehension, the police have refused to release the name of the suspect in custody, fearing that it might hinder their ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Facts About the Crime

Officers responded to calls of shots fired at about 1:30AM and found the victim of the shooting, a twenty-seven year-old resident of Newark. The victim was found on the ground of a front yard, writhing in pain from gunshot wounds to the buttocks, shoulder, and heel. The victim survived, and is being treated for his gunshot wounds at Stanford Medical Center after being taken there from the scene of the shooting.

According to police, the victim told officers that the alleged shooters came up to him as he was walking down the street. The victim said the he began to run away, and this was when the men began shooting. After fleeing the shooters, the victim passed out in a yard on Fordham Street. Captain John Chalmers said that the men began shooting at the fleeing victim for reasons that continue to be unknown.

Officers reported that they saw one of the suspects discard a Glock 9mm pistol near the crime scene. Officers brought the man in for questioning, and are processing the ballistic “fingerprint” of the handgun to try to match it to spent shell casings found at the crime scene.

Crime Victim is Not Known for Having Gang or Drug Affiliations

Police are familiar with the victim in this case and have dealt with him in the past. They know him as someone that is not affiliated with any street gangs or drug dealing, so the cause of the shooting is all the more a mystery. It is possible that more information will be known as other suspects are apprehended.