COURTHOUSE ROUND-UP

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

September 27, 2007

By Gintautas Dumcius
Reporter Correspondent

Two teenagers were arraigned in Dorchester District Court this week, charged with possession of firearms as police were responding to a person shot at 104 Millet Street on Monday night.

James Middleton, 18, and Willie Ward, 17, were charged, accused of posessing guns found near an open field by 112 Millet Street after 8 pm on Monday night. Their lawyers said they were trying to investigate the shooting of their brother, Michael.

Anthony Ellison, the court-appointed attorney for Middleton, noted that he had stayed out of trouble, with one entry on his record for dismissal of court costs since they were paid quickly.

"When he's ordered to do something by the court, he does it," Ellison said. Middleton had heard that his brother was in trouble and ran into officers when he and Ward were cutting through a well-known shortcut on Millet Street, Ellison said.

Rudge McKenney, the court-appointed attorney for Ward, who was due in court on October 25 for allegedly punching another male, said the defendant has a very small juvenile record.

McKenney said accusing Ward of possessing the firearm, reportedly being found on a tire nearby, "seems a stretch."

Bail was set at $5,000 for each of them, with the next court date scheduled for October 26.

Area B-3 officers found a victim lying on the porch of 104 Millet Street on Monday night with a number of gunshot wounds. The person was sent to Boston Medical Center and was listed in stable condition.

Man charged with machete attack

A painter living near Codman Square is accused of wielding a machete in a dispiute with his girlfriend early Monday morning before police found him lying in an Aspinwall Road apartment, unconscious, with an empty bottle of pills next to him.

Xavier Irizarry, 25, was charged this week with assault to murder and assault and battery with a deadly weapon on his girlfriend of three years, though his court-appointed lawyer noted that police found no type of knife matching that description at the scene.

"There's nothing to indicate he could've gotten rid of the weapon in his condition," Nancy Kaplan, an attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, told the court. Kaplan also noted he has no prior convictions. Bail was set at $50,000. The next court date is scheduled for October 22.

Citing the police report, prosecutors noted police responded to a call of a stabbing from a victim, who said she was Irizarry's girlfriend and lived with him. She charged that Irizarry had been drinking and had accused her of stealing from his wallet.

He then slapped her across the face then lunged at her with a knife 10 to 15 inches long, described as a machete, according to the police report. The victim sustained cuts to the inside of her left hand.

The victim managed to escape with her five-year old child, running barefoot with only a t-shirt towards Codman Square to a friend's home to call the police, the report said.

When police arrived at the apartment, they discovered the suspect lying unconscious but breathing on the living room floor, an empty bottle of pills next to him. The victim declined medical attention and shelter.

Prosecutors did not hear back from the victim, despite repeated attempts and urgings to come to court for a restraining order.

Michigan Ave. man arrested on assault and battery charges

Twon Larone Brown, 28, of 29 Michigan Avenue, was accused of strangling his ex-wife after she threw his clothes and a pair of white sneakers out onto the front lawn of her apartment.

But Brown's court-appointed attorney noted the issue appears to be more complicated than that: they're still legally married, with no formal divorce actions. The attorney asked for the case to be moved to probate court to speed up the proceedings.

Bail was set at $2,500, with the next court date set for November 2. Brown was also ordered not to have contact with the victim.

According to the police report, officers responded to a domestic violence call on Wilbert Road on Monday afternoon. The victim said she and the suspect had an argument and she asked him to leave. The suspect refused and the victim took a few of his clothes and a pair of sneakers and threw his sneakers outside.

The suspect became upset, and grabbed her by the neck with both hands, according to the report. She responded by throwing a few eggs and bleach at him.

Police attempted to go to the 29 Michigan Avenue address to locate the suspect, with little luck. The victim then called the suspect on her cell phone and put him on speaker mode.

"I'm going to get my gun," Brown twice told her and the officers listening in, according to the report. Officers were then able to find the suspect walking to the Michigan Avenue address and placed him in custody.

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


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