Knives becoming weapon of choice in Gemme's Worcester

[Coyote33]

Knifing suspects answer charges

Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Knifing suspects answer charges

Holiday stabbing cases continued

By Steven H. Foskett Jr. TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]

WORCESTER — Two men were arraigned yesterday in connection with a Christmas morning stabbing that sent three people to the hospital.

Jesus M. Saldana, 20, of 37 Providence St., Apt. 1, and Jose Portillo, 21, of 38 Cutler St. were arrested on warrants issued Dec. 26. Judge William F. Mazanec III ordered Mr. Portillo held on $10,000 cash bail. He ordered Mr. Saldana held on $5,000 cash bail. Both men’s cases were continued to Jan. 20.

Mr. Saldana and Mr. Portillo were both charged with three counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and two counts of armed assault to murder.


According to court records, Mr. Saldana and Mr. Portillo stabbed three people at 770 Franklin St. on Christmas morning. The victims were brought to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus, and two of the three victims required surgery, according to court records.

Detective Capt. Edward J. McGinn Jr. said Mr. Saldana and Mr. Portillo were part of a group of five men loosely associated with family members having a Christmas Eve and birthday party at 770 Franklin St. The family was not expecting all five men to arrive, and when one of the men made a rude comment, a fight erupted, Capt. McGinn said.

“One of the men from the group made a vulgar remark to a young girl,” Capt. McGinn said.

During the fight, one victim was stabbed in the back, one victim was stabbed in the chest, and one victim was stabbed in the stomach. Capt. McGinn said the victims with stab wounds in the chest and stomach were seriously injured enough to require surgery.

The alleged attacks occurred around 1:30 a.m. Dec. 25, Capt. McGinn said.

Scott J. Croteau of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.

 

[mikem317]

I'm sick of living in this "ban them all" society, they have banned kids from wearing hoodies in school they have also disarmed them with banning knives and lawfully possessed guns. where does it stop!!!! isn't it enough that todays educators try to control kinds minds!!. i think that every kid should be be able to carry a pocket knife its a tool!!!!.

I carried a pocket knife when I was in high school. That was over 10 years ago though.

Now you can't even wear a baseball cap. Or chew gum. Or, oddly, carry a backpack.

 

[Coyote33]

25+ years ago, they didn't let you chew gum in school, either. But, the brass and wood Buck knives and Swiss Army knives were quite prevalent. Baseball caps were OK, but nobody wore them inside then like they do now. I remember there WAS a stink when punk started, and someone came in with green hair, and there have ALWAYS been issues with ripped jeans or t-shirts. The only new thing is just the banning of knives.

 

[Chris]

I've had a pocket knife on me just about every day of my life since I was 6 years old. The style and configuration has changed, but it's almost always there. In fact, I'm more apt to have the knife in my pocket than have my wallet in my pocket.

Only issue I ever had was when I pulled it out to fix a record player in English class one year in High School. Was a VERY interesting talk with the principal. We agreed that it was a tool and so long as I didn't threaten anyone, I was fine. (Of course, I don't think this had ANYTHING to do with the fact that I got the mimeograph machine running again and the Tandy Model 1 computers all setup with the exact same 'tool'.)

Somewhere along the line we lost the ability to judge the person and not the object.

 

[Will Brink]

In 2001, Boston passed an ordinance fining violators a maximum of $300 for carrying certain types of knives.

It was a successful deterrent, Mr. Early said.

Deterrent against what? Put down the crack pipe Mr. Early...

That's your mistake right there, focusing on the tool vs the outcome. If you are being murdered, raped, etc, you dont care if it's with knife, a bat, or a rock.

For example, The US murder rate is 55 per million, according to the FBI. Scotland Glasgow had one of the highest murder rates in Western Europe at 58.7 per million. They have strict guns laws, and a "knife culture" that seems to have no problems killing more people than we do per capita. To learn more about their "knife culture" see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4031405.stm

Guess what, they can claim a low death rate by guns too....

 

[theGringo]

25+ years ago, they didn't let you chew gum in school, either. But, the brass and wood Buck knives and Swiss Army knives were quite prevalent. Baseball caps were OK, but nobody wore them inside then like they do now. I remember there WAS a stink when punk started, and someone came in with green hair, and there have ALWAYS been issues with ripped jeans or t-shirts. The only new thing is just the banning of knives.

We still don't let kids chew gum. This often leads kids to ask me why I'm chewing gum. It's Nicorette and if I didn't chew it, I'd strangle some SOB by 2 pm. If they made Jack Daniels gum, I'd chew that, too.

 

[mikem317]

Somewhere along the line we lost the ability to judge the person and not the object.

Quoted for truth.

 

[MasterShinken]

Next up, the national pastime, baseball, has been deamed illegal and will no longer be played in the US. This coming after a gang member who had 3 stints in prison for gang violence, only to be let out on early parole, decided to smash someones skull in with a baseball bat. The incident caused police to notice a trend in baseball bat murders and to deam the bat an "ungodly weapon of destruction". What followed was a national ban against the baby seal clubbing weapon of choice, effectivly putting an end, to one of Americas favorite pastimes.

In other news; a man, in jail for alegedly assaulting someone with a baseball bat was let out of jail today after a $2,000 bail was paid to the county courthouse... the purpatrator had only this to say... "Stupid Mother F***ers"

 

[Coyote33]

Continue this over at: New knife ordinance for Worcester: 1/9/2009


(unless a moderator can join them).

Thanks.

 

[maee]

WORCESTER— Decades ago a feud could be solved with a good old fistfight.

WTF? Do any of your old timers out there know if this is really true? Why do they always say this in the newspapers? Did they not have knives in the 50s or something? Was there some kind of gentleman's code that went along with the diners and the roller skates and the muscle cars back then that precluded the use of knives in crime?!

 

[Admin]

WORCESTER — Two men were arraigned yesterday in connection with a Christmas morning stabbing that sent three people to the hospital.

Jesus M. Saldana, 20, of 37 Providence St., Apt. 1, and Jose Portillo, 21, of 38 Cutler St. were arrested on warrants issued Dec. 26. Judge William F. Mazanec III ordered Mr. Portillo held on $10,000 cash bail. He ordered Mr. Saldana held on $5,000 cash bail. Both men’s cases were continued to Jan. 20.

These guys stabbed three people and their bail is 10K and 5K?????????

I knew a Marine who's wife took a swing at him and he held her back and his bail was 15K.

Well it is MA, they really don't like to hold criminals accountable for their actions.

 

[clinotus]

These guys stabbed three people and their bail is 10K and 5K?????????

I knew a Marine who's wife took a swing at him and he held her back and his bail was 15K.

Well it is MA, they really don't like to hold criminals accountable for their actions.

Yeah,even though its be explained to me several times, the bail limits set in this state make no sense whatsoever. I understand the legality of setting an extreme bail on an issue that may go to trial, yet there are clearly some cases where that level of 'judicial tolerance in consideration of the economics of the accused' are set far too low to make me, and I hope the rest of the citizenry, comfortable.

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

WTF? Do any of your old timers out there know if this is really true? Why do they always say this in the newspapers? Did they not have knives in the 50s or something? Was there some kind of gentleman's code that went along with the diners and the roller skates and the muscle cars back then that precluded the use of knives in crime?!

People were far less inclined to stab or shoot someone for hurting their feelings or ego. Today, too many people think they need to be a "gangsta".

Eventually the man with a knife will come up against a man with a gun and both will wish they'd used their fists instead.