Result

DRUG DISTRIBUTION IN SCHOOL ZONE: DISMISSED upon MOTION

Client, 27 year-old male, was indicted on Distribution of Class B Substance (subsequent offense) and Distribution of Class B Substance in a School Zone. A Brockton Detective was conducting an undercover drug sting operation in which he arranged to purchase drugs from the Defendant. The Detective testified that he arranged to purchase two forties of hard crack cocaine from the Defendant. The Detective testified that the Defendant distributed the crack cocaine to the undercover officer within 300 feet of the Huntington School on Warren Avenue. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan argued a Motion to Dismiss under Commonwealth v. McCarthy arguing that there was insufficient probable cause presented to the Grand Jury that the drug transaction occurred within 300 feet of a school zone. The Superior Court Judge allowed Attorney Noonan’s Motion and the School Zone Indictment was dismissed.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan’s Motion to Dismiss is allowed and saves his client from a minimum mandatory jail sentence of 2 ½ years.

DRUG OFFENSE: DISMISSED & SEALED FROM RECORD

Client, 22 year-old nursing student, was pulled over for a series of motor vehicle infractions. The officer immediately detected a strong odor of fresh marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and found a small bag of marijuana in the cubbyhole of the passenger side door. The front seat passenger was issued a citation for possession of marijuana less than one ounce. Officers searched the Defendant’s purse and recovered Percocet. Client was charged with Possession of Class B Substance (Percocet). She was applying for nursing positions at hospitals. After arraignment on the drug charge, client retained Attorney Patrick J. Noonan.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan dismisses criminal charge outright and permanently seals the drug charge from his client’s record.

LARCENY from BUILDING: CONTINUED without FINDING

Client, 33-year-old single mother of three, was charged with Improper Use of Credit Card over $250 and Larceny from Building (two counts). Client worked as a nursing assistant at an elderly residential facility. Client confessed to Police that she stole a diamond ring from one of the elderly residents (93 years old). The diamond ring was appraised at $6,800. Client admitted to selling the diamond ring at a pawnshop for $500. The pawnshop melted down the diamond ring. Client confessed to police that she stole the wallet of another elderly resident (87 years old). Client was captured on videotape using the elderly resident’s credit card to purchase merchandise. The Commonwealth recommended a “guilty finding” with two years of probation with a list of conditions, including $6,800 in restitution and an order that she no longer work with the elderly.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan secures a Continuance without a Finding, and at the conclusion of the two-year probationary period, all criminal charges will be dismissed. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan reduced the amount from $6,800 to $1,250, and eliminates the condition that the client no longer works with the elderly.

ABDW on PREGNANT WOMAN: REDUCED TO SIMPLE ASSAULT & BATTERY / IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES

Client, 42-year-old immigrant construction worker from Cape Verde with four children, was charged with Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon on a Pregnant Woman, which is an aggravated felony. Defendant entered Rice’s Market in Brockton. Defendant was previously prohibited from entering Rice’s Market due to a prior incident with the female cashier (verbal altercation). On this occasion, Defendant approached the same female cashier to purchase a one-quart can of cooking oil. The female clerk informed Defendant that he was banned from the premises. Defendant became upset and threw the can of cooking oil at the female cashier striking her in the stomach. The female cashier was 8 months pregnant at time and was taken via ambulance to the emergency room. Because the charge constitutes an aggravated felony, Defendant was subject to deportation from the United States. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan procured an agreement with the Commonwealth to have the aggravated felony reduced to a misdemeanor Assault & Battery. Even with the reduced charge of Assault & Battery, Defendant would be subject to deportation, if convicted, because he had a prior conviction for Assault in Battery in 2009. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan procured an agreed upon disposition of the Assault & Battery charge called “guilty file.” For purposes of immigration law, a “guilty file” is not considered a conviction because it carries no penalty.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan successfully reduces aggravated felony charge of ABDW on a pregnant woman to the misdemeanor offense of simple Assault & Battery, and client avoids possible deportation.

ASSAULT and BATTERY: DISMISSED

Defendant was a reserve police officer for the Wareham Police Department. Defendant and his girlfriend were traveling on the highway together with the girlfriend driving when they began to argue. During the argument, Defendant became angry took her cell phone and threw it out the car window. Defendant admitted to police that he gave an open-handed back hand to his girlfriend’s right ear as she was driving. The girlfriend stated that the Defendant also threw pictures of her child out the car window, as she was driving. The girlfriend stated that the Defendant hit her in the face and head, as she was driving. Police observed that the girlfriend had a swollen right ear and a fresh abrasion and small cut behind the right ear. She also had a red mark under her left eye. Attorney Noonan filed a Motion to Dismiss and successfully dismissed the criminal complaint because there was evidence that the alleged victim had committed crimes during the course of the incident, which precluded her from testifying on Fifth Amendment grounds. Specifically, there was evidence that the alleged victim had slapped the Defendant in the face several times and punched him in the groin area during the altercation. Due to the alleged victim’s erratic behavior, the Defendant activated the emergency brake and ran out of the vehicle. Attorney Noonan presented an affidavit to the court from the alleged victim wherein she states that she intends to invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In addition, the affidavit stated that she did not want any criminal charges to be lodged against her boyfriend and that they were undergoing counseling together to resolve their issues.

Result: Attorney Gerald J. Noonan gets domestic violence charge dismissed outright against police officer.

CARRYING FIREARM without LICENSE: DISMISSED upon MOTION

Police searched the Defendant’s home and found a Smith & Wesson 28 Special Revolver loaded with four rounds of ammunition. Defendant did not have any license to possess or carry firearms. In his Motion to Dismiss, Attorney Noonan argued that there is a “residency exemption” in the amended statute, which applies to those possessing a firearm while “present in or on his residence.” Citing case law, Attorney Noonan argued that the evidence showed that the Defendant possessed the firearm in his residence, which is not a crime, even though he did not have any gun license.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan’s Motion to Dismiss is allowed and he saves his client from serving a minimum mandatory jail sentence of 18 months.

SEX FOR A FEE: DISMISSED

Client, 43-year-old computer engineer with no criminal record, was arrested and charged with Sexual Conduct for Fee stemming from an undercover vice operation in which the Defendant agreed to solicit sexual services from an undercover police officer. After six months of negotiation with the District Attorney’s Office, Attorney Patrick J. Noonan solidified an agreement with the Commonwealth to place the Defendant on pretrial probation for one-year, a considerable win because a conviction would have resulted in automatic termination from employment. Defendant is married with three children. He works as a top-ranked system’s specialist for the Department of Interior, a federal agency. The job requires certain government clearances.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan persuades the Commonwealth to place his client on pretrial probation for one-year at the conclusion of which the criminal charge will be dismissed, saving his client’s job because a continuance without a finding (CWOF) would have resulted in client’s termination from employment.

DRAG RACING: DISMISSED

A patrol officer observed two vehicles traveling south on Somerset Ave. in the town of Dighton and were speeding up, as they approached his police cruiser. Dighton Police stopped both vehicles and charged the parties with Drag Racing. Attorney Gerald J. Noonan filed a Motion to Dismiss arguing that there was insufficient probable cause to charge his client with Drag Racing under the statute. Specifically, he argued that there was no evidence that the Defendant “accelerated at a high rate of speed” or that the Defendant was “in competition with another operator.”

Result: Attorney Gerald J. Noonan gets criminal charge dismissed outright against college student.

POSSESSION with INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE: DISMISSED

Client, 18-year-old male, was driving a motor vehicle without a driver’s license and was pulled over for speeding. Police searched the vehicle with the Defendant’s consent and recovered one packet of marijuana, six small packets of marijuana, twelve zip lock baggies, an empty vile, and two condoms. Defendant was charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute (felony). Attorney Patrick J. Noonan sought production of the certificate of analysis for the alleged substance as well as access / inspection of the alleged substance. The Commonwealth was unable to locate the alleged substance and the Commonwealth was unable to confirm whether the alleged substance was sent to the crime lab for analysis.

Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan dismissed felony drug charge outright.

Docket No.: 1231 AC 0648

ASSAULT & BATTERY: DISMISSED

The alleged victim was an employee and caretaker at a residential facility housing individuals with mental disorders. The Defendant is a mentally retarded and intellectually disabled resident of the facility. The alleged victim claimed that the Defendant attacked him punched him in the face, spat on him, knocked him to the ground, and punched him in the head. At the clerk magistrate’s hearing, Attorney Gerald J. Noonan examined an employee and caretaker at the facility who witnessed the incident between the alleged victim and the Defendant. Attorney Noonan elicited testimony from the witness who observed the alleged victim punching the Defendant, as he was being restrained face-down on the ground. This witness told the alleged victim to stop punching the Defendant but he continued punching the Defendant anyway. The clerk-magistrate dismissed the criminal complaint.

Result: Attorney Gerald J. Noonan persuades clerk-magistrate not to issue criminal complaint against his mentally disabled client.