"Police find roads ever more dangerous; Point to a culture of reckless driving" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | June 23, 2010
Some highway signs yesterday flashed information about the wake for Douglas Weddleton, a State Police sergeant killed last week when two allegedly drunk drivers caused a freak crash at the highway exit he was guarding. Across the state, other signs were programmed with a stern reminder to obey laws designed to prevent such casualties.
See: Slow Saturday Special: Late Night For State Official After Celtic's Loss
“It’s the law. Move over,’’ the billboards warned. “Slow down.’’
But such warnings are widely and flagrantly ignored, authorities say. In the aftermath of Weddleton’s death, law enforcement officials decried what they say is an increasingly reckless driving culture that has made routine traffic details and traffic stops more perilous and roadside fatalities grimly familiar....
I'm sure the ALCOHOL FACTOR is NOT a HELP!!!
Beyond the fatalities, a number of officers have been seriously injured while working road details, often by drunk drivers....
I was one, praise God no one except myself was ever hurt!
And have NO TOLERANCE or SYMPATHY for them whatsoever!
Might as well be waving a loaded gun around drunk!
You need to be able to control the two-ton vehicle you are operating, know what I mean?
--more--"Related: Bumpy roads the complaint in Belmont
"Chase suspect unruly in court; Records reveal troubled history" by Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff | June 30, 2010
The driver who led police on a harrowing 20-mile high-speed chase from Boston to Framingham has a history of mental illness and assaults on police officers, yet he was released from state hospitals, posted low bails, and skipped court hearings after recent arrests, according to court records. At one point in court yesterday, he yelled out that he was “Pope Alexander.’’
(Blog editor is so astounded he is speechless. Massachusetts is a failed state, readers)
Alejandro Serra, a 29-year-old from Framingham who was committed to a state mental health facility two years ago after he was found not criminally responsible for an assault on a state trooper, was supposed to return to Boston Municipal Court last Wednesday to answer to trespassing charges. He was also supposed to attend court-ordered mental health counseling, according to court records.
He did neither.
On Monday, Serra allegedly fled from pursuing officers at speeds over 80 miles per hour, after swearing at a man with a toddler in the South End who told him to quiet the music in his car, then refusing to stop for a trooper and nearly striking a couple crossing the street. The chase ended in Framingham after State Police cruisers blocked his car in on the Massachusetts Turnpike, where he jumped out of the vehicle and tried to flee.
See: Boston's Bad Boy
State Police later said they were “glad we were there to get him off the road.’’
I would like to know WTF a METH ADDICT (now claiming insanity?) was doing on the road to begin with!!!
Serra was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on 14 charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, and an array of motor vehicle violations and was committed to Bridgewater State Hospital to determine his competency to stand trial.
Related: Massachusetts Justice: Bridgewater Breakout
Well, now you know why he was on the streets again.
During the brief hearing, he was visibly troubled, shaking and twitching, and at one point stared and smiled at spectators in the courtroom. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Or he was suffering withdrawals!!
Serra, who wore a bandage on his forehead, also yelled out during the hearing, saying he was “Pope Alexander, not the apostle Alexander; get it together.’’
State Police had said Monday they would review Serra’s arrest and the use of force by officers who were recorded on video throwing several punches to subdue him as he tried to flee his blocked-in car.
Jeffrey Miner, a forensic psychologist who was appointed by the court to determine Serra’s state of mind, said during the hearing that the suspect was delusional. He said Serra was aggressive toward him during questioning and said he was a Supreme Court justice.
“He is clearly, I believe, out of touch with reality,’’ Miner said.
Serra’s court-appointed lawyer, Michael D’Amore, would say only: “This may be a case where his psychiatric illness may be responsible for his conduct.’’
Judge Annette Forde ordered Serra held on $5,000 cash bail on the charges related to the pursuit, set $5,000 bail for an open trespassing case in Boston Municipal Court, and revoked his bail on an open case of assault and battery in Roxbury. He is to appear in Boston Municipal Court on July 27.
Serra has a history of arrests in Florida, where he had been staying with a brother, and most recently in Massachusetts, where he has lived for the past six years.
Can we send him back?
He was arraigned on methamphetamine charges in Framingham in April and was charged with pushing his 67-year-old roommate earlier this month.
His license was suspended in Massachusetts for failure to pay a 2004 speeding ticket in Westwood, yet he continued to drive and receive traffic tickets. He was sentenced to jail time and probation in November 2005.
This state sucks!
In June 2008, Serra was found not criminally responsible for assaulting a state trooper who stopped to question him in the South End a year earlier over alleged disorderly behavior. He was committed then to the Erich Lindemann Medical Health Center, which is run by the Department of Mental Health.
According to records, he was supposed to notify hospital officials of his intent to leave three days in advance, and the hospital reserved the right to petition to have him committed again. But at one point he was released. The conditions and date of his release were not known yesterday.
Like I said, a failed state.
Related: Hospitals brace for underage drinkers
Better put your seat belt on, readers.
"Trooper injured by hit-run driver in Peabody" by Marissa Lang, Globe Correspondent | July 5, 2010
A Massachusetts state trooper suffered a leg injury while working a highway detail in Peabody early yesterday morning after a passing car sideswiped him, according to a State Police spokesman....
The accident was similar to one in which a state trooper from Brockton was hit and killed last month....
See: Slow Saturday Special: Late Night For State Official After Celtic's Loss
The sedan’s passenger-side mirror was knocked off during the accident. State Police are asking anyone with information on a silver or gray sedan that is missing a passenger-side mirror, including the identity of its driver, to contact State Police barracks in Danvers at 978-538-6161....
--more--"Related:
"Escaped patient at large, accused in attack
A Department of Mental Health patient (inset) yesterday fled from his handlers, allegedly attacked a woman outside the West Roxbury courthouse, and is now being sought by police. The patient was identified by Boston police as Michael Castellucci, 26, of Dorchester. Anna Chinappi, spokeswoman for the Department of Mental health, said yesterday that the patient was sent to Taunton State Hospital June 29 for a forensic evaluation after he appeared in Roxbury Municipal Court. Chinappi would not identify the patient by name, citing state and federal health care privacy laws. But, she said the patient has not committed any violent acts since he was hospitalized. Anyone with information about Castellucci is urged to contact Boston police District E-13 detectives at 617-343-5628."
Do you cops ever prevent anything?
And the state can't even hold on to the people it has captured, huh?
When you consider where the increased tax loot comes from, where it goes, and all the service cuts in this state, you are LOOKING at a FAILED STATE, Massachusetts!
Or a FAILED CITY at least!
"Repeat DUI offender denies driving into trooper; Posts $10,000 bail and is released" by Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent | July 7, 2010
MEDFORD — The repeat drunk driver who is accused of driving into a state trooper working a traffic detail early Monday told police he drank four beers in the 30 minutes before the accident in Cambridge, according to Middlesex prosecutors.
What did he do, CHUG 'EM?
That's a LIE!!
Drunks always gotta lie about HOW MUCH and HOW LONG they DRANK!!!!
Felix Morales, 39, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of operating under the influence, third offense, among other charges.
Bail was set at $10,000 cash, which Morales posted yesterday afternoon.
His attorney for the arraignment, David Twohig, said that Morales works as a buyer for the
“He’s a family man trying to do the best he can,’’ Twohig said.
PFFFFFFFFTTT!!!!
Morales was allegedly behind the wheel of a Nissan Maxima that hit State Police Captain Frank Hughes, a 24-year veteran who was directing traffic in Cambridge, following the Fourth of July concert and fireworks display on the Esplanade.
The crash occurred around 12:30 a.m., after Hughes, who was wearing a high visibility yellow traffic vest, tried to stop Morales as he barreled through the intersection from a clearly marked left-only lane, according to the police report. Hughes traveled 32 feet after being tossed from the hood of the car, hitting his head on the pavement as he landed. He was treated at Massachusetts General Hospital before being released later Monday.
Hughes was the second trooper hit by a vehicle during a 24-hour period on the Fourth of July weekend. On Sunday, Trooper Sean M. McGarry suffered a leg injury when a car sideswiped him while he was working a traffic detail in Peabody.
Another state trooper, Sergeant Douglas Weddleton, was killed on June 18 after an alleged drunk driver hit him on Interstate 95 while working a road construction detail.
Those cases are above, readers!
Assistant Middlesex District Attorney Evelyn Tang said that Morales’s eyes were bloodshot and watery and that his speech was slurred after police stopped him following the accident. Morales registered a .15 reading on a blood alcohol test nearly two hours after the accident, according to the police report. The state’s legal limit is .08.
And FOUR BEERS only puts you AT .08, so this guy is a LIAR!!!!
And you BURN OFF ONE DRINK an HOUR, so HE WAS GOING for LONG TIME celebratin' the Fourth!
Tang said Morales told police he consumed four beers in the 30 minutes prior to the crash.
According to prosecutors, Morales was convicted of drunken driving in 1995 and 1999. Details of those arrests were not available.
Twohig told reporters after a court appearance by Morales the East Boston man was concerned about the trooper’s well-being. He pointed out that 11 years have passed since Morales was convicted of drunken driving.
SO WHAT!
He NEVER QUIT DRINKING, he JUST GOT CAUGHT AGAIN!!
Nope, NO LICENSE for you no more, s*** bag!!!!!!!!!
Also see: RMV seeks scooter owners skating around law
They scooting drunk?
Update: Retired teacher says he struck scooter
