Pelham Mass Chief: ‘Improperly stored arsenal’ described in trial

[amm5061]

Because the power to tax is the power to destroy. If you take a person to trial, they have to: pay for their lawyer; lose income from lost work even if not tossed into the clink prior to trial; if tossed into the clink, come up with bail; possibly lose their job, because they were arrested; Have to keep up with all their regular expenses and costs, during this time.

You forgot the part where the government freezes all their bank accounts and seizes all assets of value, leaving them with no way to actually pay for any of this.

 

[EJFudd]

You forgot the part where the government freezes all their bank accounts and seizes all assets of value, leaving them with no way to actually pay for any of this.

Which brings up the question of his choice of lawyer for this case. Was it based mainly on cost? Why did he not use the high-powered (but very expensive) Boston lawyer from the 2008 case?

While I believe that Attorney Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross is quite competent and she did successfully get him off on the Peter Terapulsky assault charge (wrapped in with the 5 earlier "safe storage" charges - something that still confuses me), I question whether or not she was/is the very best choice he could have made for this particular case... one based entirely on the police lies, the unnecessary raid, entrapment (IMHO) and conflicting and gray aspects of the "safe storage" law. At a minimum, it might have helped to have a Keith Langer aboard and/or other expert witnesses re "safe storage" to help make the defense case beyond just the wife, who the prosecution was able to dismiss as simply a dumb loving wife telling self-serving lies.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Raises the parting shot, "I know that criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and civil cases settled upon the preponderance of the evidence, but what the heck kind of a trial requires 'the benefit of the doubt' - does this case involve canon law or something?".

Not that I would have thought of that in time...

No idea. I thought it a weird question at the time. We weren't told much about the case other than it involved 60 attorneys (they named them and asked if you knew any of them) and 84 witnesses plus involved contractor issues at Marina Bay and would take 6 weeks before it went to the jury.

 

[amm5061]

No idea. I thought it a weird question at the time. We weren't told much about the case other than it involved 60 attorneys (they named them and asked if you knew any of them) and 84 witnesses plus involved contractor issues at Marina Bay and would take 6 weeks before it went to the jury.

Pretty sure a lot of rape cases get decided somehow along the lines of: "well, it probably could have happened, so guilty."

 

[n1heu]

Probably, however, you have to look to Commonwealth v. Reyes for the specific non-guidance provided by the MA courts.

Remember, NEVER report a gun stolen. Report a trigger lock stolen, and provide info about the attached gun as a way to identify the stolen trigger lock.

How would that square with the legal obligation to report a lost gun?

 

[Uzi2]

Probably, however, you have to look to Commonwealth v. Reyes for the specific non-guidance provided by the MA courts.

Remember, NEVER report a gun stolen. Report a trigger lock stolen, and provide info about the attached gun as a way to identify the stolen trigger lock.

Oh ya, that'll work!

 

[namedpipes]

I *think* he might have missed adding the /sarc tag.

Leading the conversation with "SOMEBODY STOLE MUH GUN!!!" might not go well at an average PD front desk.

 

[AHM]

Leading the conversation with "SOMEBODY STOLE MUH GUN!!!" might not go well at an average PD front desk.

What's the NES Best Practice? "I had a gun, and I knew how to use it!"?

 

[Rob Boudrie]

How would that square with the legal obligation to report a lost gun?

I never said do not report the gun lost/stolen. Just report the lost/stolen trigger lock as the "headliner".

Oh ya, that'll work!

Done properly, it will. The goal is to avoid a "storage violation" charge. You need to start the process by documenting that the gun was properly secured in compliance with MGL. Also, the more specific the report, the better. Just don't mention the combination - you want the police to leave the lock on the evidence if the gun is recovered before the thief breaks the lock off.

Adding it later with "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the trigger lock" can have about as much believability as "I always used the privacy lock on my bedroom door".

 

[Lcstyle]

NES, the only place where you can get free legal condoms.

 

[BREWINZ]

I knew Ed a few years back. Really nice guy. Too bad.

 

[EJFudd]

If he is sentenced for the crime he was convicted of, he will not get jail time - no priors; nothing to indicate he is a risk to the community.

On the other hand, if he is sentenced for the crime which he was found not guilty of years ago, he will need soap on a rope.

Sort of like the 30 years OJ got which allegedly had nothing to do with his murder acquittal. (Yeah, right)

Well, we find out at 2 PM or shortly thereafter. Speculation is strong that he will be going away for a while. Only debate is... for how long?

 

[namedpipes]

If he is sentenced for the crime he was convicted of, he will not get jail time - no priors; nothing to indicate he is a risk to the community.

On the other hand, if he is sentenced for the crime which he was found not guilty of years ago, he will need soap on a rope.

Sort of like the 30 years OJ got which allegedly had nothing to do with his murder acquittal. (Yeah, right)

Penalty for improper storage is (approx) up to $10k fine and 11 or 12 years. 22 counts they could hit him with a couple hundred grand in fines and a couple of centuries in jail.

Only if they felt like being vindictive, of course. Our justice system is about finding balance, so chances are he'll get a big fine and probation.

 

[amm5061]

Penalty for improper storage is (approx) up to $10k fine and 11 or 12 years. 22 counts they could hit him with a couple hundred grand in fines and a couple of centuries in jail.

Only if they felt like being vindictive, of course. Our justice system is about finding balance, so chances are he'll get a big fine and probation.

I feel like that was the whole point here....

 

[EJFudd]

Penalty for improper storage is (approx) up to $10k fine and 11 or 12 years. 22 counts they could hit him with a couple hundred grand in fines and a couple of centuries in jail.

Only if they felt like being vindictive, of course. Our justice system is about finding balance, so chances are he'll get a big fine and probation.

Fleury's house was raided on Sept. 14, 2014, so at least he beat the increased (Chapter 284 Acts of 2014) penalties.

The pre-1/1/2015 penalty: Improper storage of large capacity weapon or machine gun (No one under 18 in house): A fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a minimum of 1 year but no longer than 10 years or both.

There were 12 guilty verdicts, not 22. Either way, he could be major screwed.

 

[namedpipes]

Fleury's house was raided on Sept. 14, 2014, so at least he beat the increased (Chapter 284 Acts of 2014) penalties.

The pre-1/1/2015 penalty: Improper storage of large capacity weapon or machine gun (No one under 18 in house): A fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for a minimum of 1 year but no longer than 10 years or both.

There were 12 guilty verdicts, not 22. Either way, he could be major screwed.

So anything between a simple fine of $12k on up to $120k and up to 120 years in jail.

For something that isn't inherently wrong and is not illegal in most of the surrounding states and the country.

 

[EJFudd]

So anything between a simple fine of $12k on up to $120k and up to 120 years in jail.

For something that isn't inherently wrong and is not illegal in most of the surrounding states and the country.

Insane, isn't it?

 

[namedpipes]

Insane, isn't it?

Yup.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

 

[HARRYM]

I wonder if we will ever know what this was REALLY all about.....

 

[Reptile]

Sentencing will be on October 5th:

http://www.gazettenet.com/Sentencing-for-Edward-Fleury-postponed-a-second-time-12768702

 

[EJFudd]

Sentencing will be on October 5th:

http://www.gazettenet.com/Sentencing-for-Edward-Fleury-postponed-a-second-time-12768702

So another health delay. Interesting. This could go on for a while I guess.

Interesting tidbit from your article:

A jury found Fleury guilty earlier this month of 12 counts of improperly storing a firearm and not guilty on 10 of the same charges. Eleven of the guilty verdicts were reached on guns police said were found improperly stored in the attic space. The final guilty verdict was on a gun found in a study at the home.

So the guns in the master bedroom (supposedly watched by Fleury's wife?) were okay... but not the ones in the attic with the "flimsy" lock on the attic door. I'll bet that last one was the gun "under the sofa cushion" we've heard so much about.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

I predict Felury will be dead within 3 years. He is a broken man, and it is no coincidence that he "forgot" to take life sustaining medication just before sentencing. He will either overtly commit suicide, or just give up on life.

 

[Lcstyle]

Yes but was justice ultimately served in the universal context of karma (what goes around comes around), or was this simply another vulgar display of power by the state?

 

[Dadstoys]

Yes but was justice ultimately served in the universal context of karma (what goes around comes around), or was this simply another vulgar display of power by the state?

Yes to both in this case.

 

[amm5061]

I predict Felury will be dead within 3 years. He is a broken man, and it is no coincidence that he "forgot" to take life sustaining medication just before sentencing. He will either overtly commit suicide, or just give up on life.

I think you're probably right here. I wouldn't be surprised, if they end up locking him up, if he ends up hanging himself in his cell.

 

[Uzi2]

Any word on sentencing?

 

[amm5061]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/edward_fleury_sentenced_to.html

Two years probation, $7,500 fine, and PP for life it looks like.

 

[Uzi2]

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/10/edward_fleury_sentenced_to.html

Two years probation, $7,500 fine, and PP for life it looks like.

Better than expected....but definitely still a screw job.

 

[amm5061]

Better than expected....but definitely still a screw job.

Prosecution wanted him jailed for 3 years with 5 years probation, so a win for him I suppose.

But yes, total railroad job here.

 

[namedpipes]

Can one move out of state while on probation?