By Gintautas Dumcius
Reporter Correspondent

A Dedham man was arraigned this week on charges of leaving the scene after injuring a pedestrian on Victory Road, a charge his court-appointed lawyer strongly contested in court.

Bobby Orlando Renteria, 22, of 415 Washington St., was accused of a hit-and-run, leaving the victim with two broken legs, a large cut to his head and a possible internal injury.

According to the police report, witnesses told officers they were walking down Victory Road and observed a black Audi station wagon coming at them quickly. They waved their arms and signaled the driver to slow down, the report says. The victim then hit the windshield, landing on top of the car and bouncing off. The witnesses said the car did not stop and fled the scene. Officers observed a lack of skid marks on the road.

Renteria's attorney, John Garland, said Renteria, who has posted bail, acknowledged he hit someone, and pulled over twenty feet away, only to find a crowd coming after him, yelling obscenities.

Garland said Renteria then went to find police.

"He adamantly denies leaving the scene," Garland said.

At a nearby gas station at Freeport Street and Morrissey Boulevard, another police officer met Renteria, who waved him down, hysterically telling him, "I hit somebody…I may have killed him."

The Audi had a smashed windshield, a dent on its top, and blood stains on its top and the roof rack.

The next court date was set for Dec. 13.

Detectives point to Roxbury teen in Normandy St. armed robbery

A Roxbury teen was arraigned this week as one of three young men involved in an armed robbery last week on Normandy Street and Castlegate Road.

Aaron Cooper, 17, of 47 Clifford St., was charged with assault and battery and armed robbery. Cooper's court-appointed attorney, John Garland, noted that a firearm wasn't recovered at the scene and other questions remained.

"The facts don't add up here," he told the court.

Bail was set at $2,500. The next court date is Oct. 31.

The victim told police he was walking on Sept. 25, Tuesday evening, when he was approached by three black males and cut on the right forearm by one of the suspects, who had a knife, according to the police report. Another suspect had a gun, the report further says.

The victim then says he was stabbed while the other two suspects took two white plastic shopping bags holding an $800 laptop computer and a baseball hat. Suspects then fled in a Nissan car down Blue Hill Avenue toward Mattapan.

On Sept. 28, detectives pointed police officers to three black males walking in the rear lot in between Castlegate Street and Washington Street. The victim, known to the Commonwealth, positively identified Cooper as one of the people who robbed him several days earlier, according to the police report.

Mattapan man accused of pushing girlfriend, kicking her cat

A Mattapan man was accused this week of pushing his girlfriend and kicking her four-year-old cat.

Richard Thomas, 56, of 880 Cummins Hway., was charged with assault and battery and cruelty to animals. Bail was set at $750, along with a "no contact" order with the victim. The next court date is November 6.

According to prosecutors and the police report, police arrived at his address on late Monday afternoon to find the victim crying, stuttering and physically shaking when attempting to give an officer her information.

She said the suspect pushed her into a wall and when she attempted to get back up, he pushed her again. They get into arguments when he is drinking, she said according to the report.

He also allegedlykicked her cat "Midnight" onto its side while arguing with her, the report says.

Officers found the suspect on the rear hallway in the fourth floor. The victim declined medical attention, despite a bruise on her right arm, which she said was from last week when the suspect allegedly hit her, according to the police report.

Thomas's court-appointed attorney, in arguing for a low bail, noted, "he has no reason not to show" at the next hearing. He has a stable job as a car auctioneer, she said.

Dorchester teen accused of snatching purse

Jose Rojas, 17, of Dorchester was charged with unarmed robbery this week. The teen, who pled not guilty, was accused of asking a woman walking by Talbot Avenue for the time before taking her purse.

The incident occurred at about 5:45 p.m. on Monday.

But his court-appointed lawyer noted that there were differences in the original description given by the victim and her later positive identification.

Police came upon several males on Harvard Avenue about an hour later, with the alleged victim's belongings, including her ID and her iPod, prosecutors said. Near them was her purse, according to prosecutors.

The two other individuals with the suspect had the items and he was not holding any, according to prosecutors.

Rojas's court-appointed attorney pointed out that the initial description of the suspects included three black males, "dark-skinned" with one having braids and another with wild hair.

None of the descriptions match her client, she said.

Judge Rosalind Miller acknowledged there appeared to be identification problems. Bail was set at $1,000 with the next court date scheduled for Nov. 2.

Gintautas Dumcius covers court proceedings and law enforcement for the Reporter. He can be reached at gin.dumcius@gmail.com.

RECENT COURTHOUSE ROUND-UPS

Teens charged with gun possession in aftermath of Millet St. shooting 9.27.07

Mattapan man charged with assaulting pregnant girlfriend 9.20.07

Man charged with pushing pedal, then pushing cop 9.13.07

Hiawatha Rd. man arraigned for allegedly
shooting at his own brother 9.6.07

Youth arraigned on gun charges after Festival 8.30.07