Public Safety
Public Safety
Defense says Port Norfolk arson killing not gang-related
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An attorney defending a Dorchester man charged with murder and setting fire to a Port Norfolk Street home in 2001 lit into a top witness for the prosecution this week, accusing her of setting up the fire and lying to a grand jury investigating the case.
In a heated exchange on Tuesday, Robert Galibois, a Barnstable lawyer defending Eric King, on trial for the arson and murder, attempted to rip apart the testimony of Tamia Brown, who has pleaded guilty as an accessory before the fact to the murder of 53-year-old Shelby Caddell by directing King and others to the home. Read more
Hendry gets mayor's attention
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When it comes to property owners around Hendry Street in Dorchester, Leonard Habiyakare, Jr. is an exception. While some have sold out over the past few years and others succumbed to foreclosure, Habiyakare has been struggling to keep his three-family house, which is at the end of the street. With help from ACORN, he managed to get his mortgage modified, but he still has trouble finding tenants. Read more
Davis questions impact of city's streetworkers
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Boston's top cop has raised questions on the effectiveness of the city's streetworkers, pointing to the need nowadays for background checks and different hours as potentially detrimental.
At a meeting last month in the Area C-11 police station, City Councillor Charles Yancey pressed Police Commissioner Ed Davis on the matter, arguing that the city needs to be deploying more streetworkers and engaging at-risk youth, a cause that the Dorchester pol held a recent hearing on at City Hall. Read more
High bail for alleged owner of Adams St. gun and drug cache
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An Adams St. residence last week appeared to double as a drug and weapons warehouse, as police uncovered a large cache of guns, marijuana and crack cocaine there.
The cache allegedly stashed away at the 349 Adams St. Read more
Courthouse roundup: Charged with biting a police officer
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An Intervale Street man and his girlfriend were in Dorchester District Court this week adding to the list of police reports on the two of them. Both were arraigned on charges of assault and battery and one for biting a police officer.
Tyrone Silcott, 37, of 159 Intervale St., pleaded not guilty to the charges. Silcott's court-appointed attorney, Jeffrey Clifford, said his client is disabled, with six children, including three with the victim.
A separate case is pending with him as the victim, Clifford said. Read more
New push set: vs. crime in Talbot-Washington area
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A joint law enforcement and community initiative to target gun violence and quality of life problems in one of the city's most crime-challenged corridors is ratcheting up its efforts this year. The Washington Street/Talbot Avenue Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SNI) has begun a series of community-wide meetings aimed at prioritizing hot-spots and coordinating a response between police, prosecutors and community-based organizations. Read more
New push set vs. crime in Talbot-Washington area
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A joint law enforcement and community initiative to target gun violence and quality of life problems in one of the city's most crime-challenged corridors is ratcheting up its efforts this year. The Washington Street/Talbot Avenue Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SNI) has begun a series of community-wide meetings aimed at prioritizing hot-spots and coordinating a response between police, prosecutors and community-based organizations. Read more
Man found stabbed to death in Tuttle Street home
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Neighbors on a quiet Savin Hill sidestreet awoke to a crime scene last Thursday morning, after police discovered a young man stabbed to death in a third floor apartment at 56 Tuttle St.
Boston Police say the victim is Daniel Yakovleff, 20, of Roxbury. He was found dead at approximately 6 a.m.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, the third-floor tenant told police he had picked up two men at a bar and brought them back to his apartment. When he woke up the following morning, the tenant called police after finding one of them had been stabbed. Read more
Courthouse roundup: Police sweep makes for busy Tuesday at courthouse
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Thanks in part to a police roundup of 80 individuals over the weekend, Dorchester District Court's cells were packed with over 100 people on Tuesday, some of whom spent the three-day weekend in lock-up.
Precisely how many people the sweep brought to the court itself is unclear, but the first session, where arraignments occur, overflowed with relatives and those who had made bail.
While the court was able to dispense with 30 to 40 cases in the morning, matters slowed down considerably in the afternoon after the regularly-scheduled lunch break, visibly irritating Judge Sydney Read more
Top cop huddles with leaders at C-11
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Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told a roomful of merchants and civic leaders last week that he remains confident that the new year will see a continued drop in violent crime in Dorchester, despite a bloody January that has seen five homicides in District C-11 alone, including three last week. Davis huddled with about 40 community leaders and other law enforcement officers in a unique mid-day meeting last Friday at the C-11 police station on Gibson Street. Read more
