Chicago DUI Accident Kills Law Student at Northwestern University

By guest-writer
The tragic death of a law student at Northwestern University has led to drunk driving charges for a 21-year-old Illinois man who allegedly struck the student with his vehicle at a Chicago street corner.
Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that Bianca Garcia struck 32-year-old Jesse Bradley while he was walking in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood, apparently in an effort to seek a late-night snack.
Sources say that Bradley was walking across a crosswalk on LaSalle Street when Garcia’s Jeep Liberty ran directly into him at about 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital declared Bradley dead at 2:54 a.m.
After the accident, Garcia reportedly fled the scene of the accident by driving the wrong way down a one-way street, but police officers pulled her Jeep over a few minutes after the collision.
Police officers were suspicious of the car because it had serious damage to its front end, including a missing headlight, and there was a significant amount of smoke coming from the engine compartment, according to the police report.
After police pulled her over, Garcia refused to submit to a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer test, but this did not prevent Chicago prosecutors from bringing DUI charges against her.
Sources indicate that Garcia has been charged with felony aggravated DUI, misdemeanor DUI, and misdemeanor reckless driving. Police also cited her for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and for driving with a license.
After the accident, Garcia decline medical attention, but sources say that she eventually was treated for injuries, along with a 20-year-old woman who was riding in the backseat of the Jeep, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Sadly, Bradley was beyond the point where treatment would help. According to the Chicago Tribune, Bradley had taken a semester off from law school, but was planning to complete his degree this summer before pursuing a career in corporate law.
As he awaited the completion of his degree, Bradley had taken a part-time job at a local Starbucks, which was partially due to his self-admitted addiction to coffee. Bradley had lived in Chicago for about five years.
In a recent interview, Bradley’s sister expressed feelings that were shared by the rest of his family. In her words, “it’s just bizarre. It really shows you how life can change in an instant. He was healthy. He was living. And he died. He should not have died at 32.”

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Dorchester College Student Is Arrested For Bringing Gun To School

A Dorchester college student is currently being held without bail after being arraigned at Dedham District Court. According to law enforcement, the lad, Darryl Max Dookhran, 18, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was carrying a semi-automatic firearm in his backpack at Massachusetts Bay Community College in

According to the Wellesley police, detectives acted on a tip that the Defendant had the gun. They say that they then approached the Defendant as he was standing in line at the registrar's office. They then walked him into a nearby room. The Commonwealth says that the Defendant, upon this confrontation, backed against a wall and then kicked at detectives when they attempted to pat him down.

What followed, according to the Commonwealth is described as a “furious struggle with police”

Detectives say they found a Tec-9 gun in his backpack, with a loaded 18-round magazine.

He apparently says that it is not his gun and he has no idea how it got into his backpack.

He stands charged with a number of crimes, including possession of a large capacity firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, possession of a high-capacity ammunition clip, and resisting arrest.

Attorney Sam’s Take:

This is a classic example of someone making their situation worse.

First of all, there is no question that the prosecution was not going to believe that the mysterious machine gun simply appeared in the Defendant’s backpack unbeknownst to him.

However, if the Defendant had any hope of arguing to a jury that he did not know about the gun, he has made it even harder on himself by struggling with the police.

First of all, struggling with the police has earned him another criminal charge. It has also given the Commonwealth additional evidence of “consciousness of guilt”. If the Defendant did not believe he had something to hide, why struggle with the police?

Of course, people who are used to the criminal justice system know that there may be many reasons why someone would struggle with the police. However, a jury is not likely to be so versed. They will simply go to the most obvious reason….that he knew he was being caught with his gun.

The Defendant clearly has other criminal justice issues beyond this case. At the ripe old age of 18, he has already been convicted of a felony.

“So, Sam, there is no defense?”

You know me better than that if you are a regular reader to this daily blog.

First of all, there may well be search and seizure issues regarding the recovery of the gun. Should the defense be successful in challenging the seizure of the gun, the gun will be suppressed. This means that the Commonwealth will not be able to use it against him. No gun…..no case. I suppose The prosecutor might still be able to go for resisting arrest, but that is the least of the Defendant’s problems at the moment in terms of a potential prison sentence.

I wonder what the Defendant’s prior case was about. Could it have had something to do with an assault? What if it were and, as an aftermath, the Defendant still had some enemies out there? Most people know that being found in possession of a gun is big trouble. Many people know that if you are found in possession of the gun and you have already been convicted of a felony that is even more trouble. Of course, if the Defendant is still on some kind of probation from that earlier felony, which is quite likely, this arrest in and of itself is a violation of probation and is enough to send him to prison.

Of course, in this modern era, tests may be able to be performed on the gun to check for
fingerprints, hair or DNA on the gun to see if anything matches the Defendant..

The bottom line is that the Defendant is in a lot of trouble. Trouble that could forever alter any plans he had for the future. This means it could not get much more serious.

If he has not already, my suggestion would be to get an experienced criminal defense attorney to guide and defend him.

If you have a criminal case and would like to discuss it with me, , please feel to call me to arrange a free initial consultation at 617-492-3000.

To view the original stories, please go to : http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/02/mass_bay_studen.html and http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/

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Swampscott And Marblehead Explode Into High School Student Violence- Attorney Sam’s Take

Marblehead Massachusetts is not normally thought of as the assault capital of the Commonwealth. Neither is Swampscott for that matter. However, one week ago today, there was an explosion of violence between kids from these towns...complete with dangerous weapons.

Now, we are not talking Boston here, so the weapons are not uzis or other types of firearms. They included primarily baseball bats, pipes and chains.

I am told by one high school juvenile that the fight had actually been scheduled to take place outside the Marblehead High School. However, authorities learned about it before it had a chance to commence and made the kids leave.

The ignited spark of anger was not extinguished by the change in venue, however. It simply moved to a regularly quiet residential street. And then...boom!

The cause of the fight? I am told that a young gentleman of one town made some passes at a young lady of the other town. Unfortunately, said lass had a boyfriend from her own town.

The press coverage of this has not been great. If not for the fact that I live in the area, I might not never have found out about the brawl.

There is a video of the event on the web page listed below. Part of the description was apparently one of those present. I will leave the more vivid description to that person’s posted words:

Shit just got real in the hood motherfucker! Jets vs. Sharks for real. Pipes and bats and shit. Blood in the streets. People getting carried out in stretchers. That’s how we do in the barrio. Straight gangsta living. Big Blue vs. Marblehead. Bloods vs. Crips. Doesn’t get any more real than that son. I just thank my lucky stars everyday that I kept my head down, stayed out trouble and made it out of there alive. Wasn’t easy though. Hard knock life will wear you down.

And so, we have another example of how such a “hard knock life”, in Marblehead no less, will “wear you down”.

I am told, however, that by the time the kids were scattered, there were hospitalizations and a great deal of blood at the scene of the violence.

Over my many years as an experienced criminal defense attorney, I have handled various criminal matters around the Commonwealth. Yes, this would include the North Shore towns of Swampscott and Marblehead. However, violence to this extent is not typical there.

On the other hand, times are indeed changing. I have watched as the nature of crime in the Commonwealth has taken on some of the characteristics that I observed as a prosecutor in New York. As that happens, what exists in the cities tends to move out to the suburbs.

Is this a coming trend? Please be assured that law enforcement will do what they can to prevent the growth of such things. So will prosecutors and judges. This generally means a “no tolerance” policy which sometimes spells out tougher sentences on the young defendants than one would expect.

Any such criminal action which brings a juvenile to an arraignment will likely have drastic repercussions on his or her future.

If it ever was, it is no longer a joke. Just Kids” is not much of a defense these days.

What is?

That depends. The best person to answer that would be an experienced criminal defense attorney acquainted with the given case.. If you or your child are looking at criminal allegations, do not assume that if you just cooperate with the prosecution all will be well. Get protection. Get an experienced criminal defense attorney to guide and defend you and yours.

We all want to end violence, particularly when it comes to kids. But you may not want to aid the cause by sacrificing your child to it as an "example"..

If you want to discuss such a case with me, feel free to call me for a free initial consultation. I can be reached at t 617-492-3000.

To view the original story, and charming photograph about which parts of this blog were based, please go to : http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/marblehead-vs-swampscott-rivalry-escalates-to-gigantic-street-brawl/

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