Recently in Not So Wise Guys Category

I ran out to Gorman Street, a small dead end in Back Central tonight about 7 because I heard a motor vehicle pursuit in which it sounded like the driver, who was allegedly drunk, had turned down a dead end.

I thought that sounded a little amusing, but the reality was more sad.

Police say Michael Davis, 54, of 64 Gorman St., actually drove home as a police cruiser was in pursuit.

He is accused of striking a car on Gorham Street in front of Santoros. An officer then saw Davis blow past him going about 70 on Gorham Street, but Davis wouldn't stop when the officer gave chase, police said.

I arrived at the end of Gorman Street to see a girl crying her eyes out, and several small children wandering around as Davis stood in handcuffs right in front of his family and neighbors.

Officer Jason Burd poured a pounder can of Bud Light out onto the ground. Davis had allegedly been drinking it as he drove.

Davis was charged with OUI-third offense, failure to stop for police, operating to endanger, failure to pass safely, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, failure to stop at a red light, open container in a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation and a seatbelt violation.

The city's Vice Unit picked up a pair of guys with some serious history this afternoon after an investigation led them to call in marked units to help with a traffic stop at Broadway and School streets about 2 p.m.

Detectives found over 250 pills on the men, including 89 tablets of 80 mg Oxycontin, which sells for about a dollar a milligram.

Arrested were Brian Aylward, 46, who gave an address of 18 W. Bowers St., Unit 2, and Francis O'Leary, 66, who gave an address of 49 Rivercliff Road.

In addition to the Oxycontin, police said the men had small amounts of heroin, marijuana, about 150 percocets and then various other prescription pills.

The really interesting thing here, though, is who these two guys are.

Aylward used to be from Somerville, and on April 24, 1987 he was convicted of manslaughter for the May 18, 1986 beating death of David Williams, a 22-year-old student at Roxbury Community College.

Prosecutors said Aylward punched Williams when Williams tried to break up a fight inside a Cambridge apartment.

He was apparently hanging out in Lowell after serving a 15 to 18 year prison sentence.

O'Leary's past is possibly even more colorful.

He was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty on March 21, 1986 to being one of several men who used dynamite and drills to break into the foot-thick vault of Depositors Trust Company, in Medford, over Memorial Day weekend in 1980.

O'Leary and several men who were police officers at the time were convicted of stealing roughly $1.5 million in cash and jewelry from about 700 safe deposit boxes inside the vault during a long holiday weekend.

The alleged mastermind of that heist was Gerald Clemente, a former Metropolitan District Commission Police captain, who was also later implicated in the "Examscan" scandal, after he and others stole promotional exams given to police officers and sold them.

I have no indication at all that Brian Aylward is any relation to the Aylward family in Tewksbury, which has produced some football coaches at Tewksbury High School.

Both he and O'Leary should be looking at another stretch of serious time, though.

Aylward is charged with trafficking a class B substance, trafficking a class B substance in a school zone, possession of a class C substance with intent to distribute, possession of a class C substance with intent to distribute in a school zone, possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute, possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute in a school zone, possession of heroin, conspiracy to violate drug laws, and three counts each of possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute and possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute in a school zone.

O'Leary is charged with trafficking a class B substance, trafficking a class B substance in a school zone, possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute, possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute in a school zone, and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

The arrest was made just yards from the Stoklosa Middle School in Lowell.

For more information on just how destructive Oxycontin is, please go read this story I wrote a few months ago.

And I'm making both video and audio recordings.

I just want to get that straight right now, because my colleague Erin Smith has a story running in Sunday's paper about some police officers both locally and nationally claiming that people can't make audio/video recordings of them without permission.

Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272, Section 99, it is illegal to make a secret audio recording of anyone in this state.

Under a subsequent ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court, with Chief Justice Margaret Marshall and Justice Robert Cordy dissenting, it is illegal to make a secret recording even in a public place where a person would enjoy no reasonable expectation of privacy.
In other words you can't even secretly record a public meeting, events happening on a public street, or a police officer conducting his duties.

The key here, as Erin's story will address, is that only secret recordings are prohibited. Despite that, some police have claimed that consent to record is required.

"We read the law to say that it only bans secret recording," is what Laura Rotolo, a lawyer at the Boston office of the American Civil Liberties Union told Erin. "If I take out a tape recorder and then start recording in full view of the public, then I don't need your permission and it's not illegal."

Fitchburg Police Chief Robert DeMoura has informed his officers in Fitchburg of this with a training advisory sent out in March, Erin reports.

"There is no consent requirement for open, in plain sight, recording," DeMoura wrote. "Police officers who arrest people engaging in plain-view audio recording risk liability for an arrest without probable cause and violation of rights under the First Amendment."

For reference, the photo above is the video camera that I use. It's a Flip Mino that records both video and audio.

If you ever see me at a crime scene, or car accident, or fire, be assured I will be using it to record both video and audio, and I will be doing so by holding it out in front of me, in plain sight. I will not ask your permission.

I've reposted two videos I've recorded with it amid this entry.

Some food for thought regarding just how serious this crime is:

The potential penalty for making a secret audio recording is 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The potential penalty for making a secret audio recording is therefore equal to the potential penalties for punching a pregnant woman in the stomach and punching an infant in the face.

All those penalties are exactly double what you can possibly get for punching a police officer in the face, which carries a maximum sentence of 2 1/2 years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

I should also include a disclaimer that in case this ever comes up for anyone, do not resist arrest.
Resisting arrest is a crime in Massachusetts regardless of whether there was probable cause for the underlying arrest, and police deserve more respect than that even if they're wrong on a matter of law.

I'd love to read what you think in the comments section.

Police ended up stopping a Ford Explorer at gunpoint on Boyleston Street this afternoon due to reports from a 911 caller that someone in the vehicle had been waving what appeared to be a 9mm handgun out the window.

Turns out it was just an angry driver with a BB gun.

Tewksbury Police took a 911 call from driver on Clark Road in Tewksbury who reported she was behind a tan Ford Explorer, and that someone in the vehicle was throwing bottles out the windows and waving a handgun.

The 911 caller stayed on the line as the vehicle went onto Route 38, onto Douglas Road in Lowell, and onto Boylston Street, before the 911 caller lost sight of the vehicle.
By this time Lowell and Tewksbury police were both searching, and a cruiser was on the way to the Wentworth Avenue home the Ford was registered to.

Officers soon found the Explorer on Boylston Street just up from Lawrence Street. Since they had information the driver was waving a gun, officers conducted a felony stop, detaining the men in the car at gunpoint.

The driver told officers a girl had thrown some coins at his car, so he held the BB gun out the window and pointed it up into the air.

The driver and some passengers were released after police checked out them and the vehicle. I'd imagine they learned quite a lesson right about the time their little prank led to them staring down the barrel of an officer's .40 caliber Sig Sauer.

It's an interesting thought, though, how many times each week police are forced to make felony stops, detaining people at gunpoint with their handguns drawn, forced to be ready to pull the trigger in a second or less if needed.
And yet so many times each week and month in incidents that none of us ever hear about, they quickly take care of these situations, no one gets hurt, and we all go on with our lives.

It's an interesting thought to keep in mind next time an officer is forced to pull the trigger. Even an incident like this forces them into these situations where decisions have to be made within seconds.

I was chasing some other stories tonight so it wasn't until the end of the night that I stumbled upon this story while getting the arrest log from Lowell Police.

It turns out Officer Charles Pappaconstantinou, of the gang unit, was on patrol on Adams Street near Suffolk Street, this afternoon about 1 p.m., when a Kia Sportage that was in front of him stopped in the street.

Police tell me the driver got out of the Sportage, left the car running, and began to walk away from the car when Pappaconstantinou approached him to find out what was going on.

The driver, later identified as Robbie Garcia, 29, of 139 Salem St., Unit 1, initially gave a false name.

When Pappaconstantinou determined Garcia's true identity, he learned Garcia had no driver's license, and was a registered level 3 sex offender here in Lowell, according to police.

Garcia was placed under arrest for driving without a license, giving a false name to police and failure to submit motor vehicle for inspection.

Police said that when officers were conducting an inventory search of the Sportage, they found two handguns, one a .40 caliber, and one that I couldn't get the make of.

Based on the additional charges against Garcia, it seems as if at least one of the guns was loaded. He was also charged with illegal possession of ammunition and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm.

Garcia was held at the police station Monday night on $25,000 cash bail, and will be arraigned this morning in Lowell District Court.

Why is Garcia a level 3 sex offender?

In 2005, he was sentenced to 6 years in prison followed by 6 years probation by Superior Court Judge Paul Chernoff, after pleading guilty to five counts of aggravated rape, assault to rape and open and gross lewdness.

According to reports published in The Sun at the time, Garcia and two other men met a niave 17-year-old girl in Lowell, got her to party with them, drinking and smoking pot, and eventually took her to the Motel Caswell in Tewksbury.

At the Motel Caswell, the men gave the girl more alcohol and some cocaine, and all three men took turns raping the girl even as she repeatedly asked them to stop, according to published reports.

The girl told a school counselor what happened the next day, and was taken to a city hospital to get a rape kit. The girl later picked out Garcia's photo from a photo array. Garcia's DNA matched evidence obtained in the rape kit, according to published reports.

Another man served 2 1/2 years for the assault, but the third man was never identified.

Police tell me that after Justin Cassidy, 21, of 127 Willow St., Unit 3, Manchester, N.H., and his 23-year-old pal Justin Gunn got booted out of Centro for making offensive comments this afternoon, they really showed the management who was in charge.

Police say Cassidy mooned the patrons and management after he was kicked out, pressing his buttocks against the window of the restaurant at 24 Market St., in Lowell.

Not to let one brilliant idea ruin his fun, Cassidy then attempted to outsmart everyone in Lowell by walking a block down the street to another establishment at Middle and Palmer streets, all while the manager from Centro followed him.

Cassidy was promptly arrested at Middle and Palmer, and charged with open and gross lewdness, a felony sex offense.

Hope it was worth it dude.

That's what the Vice Unit in Lowell spent a little time doing tonight, and since it was a slow night I zipped up to Armory Park and waited around to get a few photos.

The two guys below are among five who were busted by detectives.

First is Jose Goncalves, 66, of 409 School St.

And this is Jamie Zepeta Cervantes, 36, of 48 West Adams St.

Both are charged with offering pay for sex, as are James Ripley, 51, of 95 Dover St.;
Joseph Adjei, 34, of 686 Bridge St.; and Sakhorn Chanthasen, 27, 64 Lundberg St.

All will be arraigned Monday in Lowell District Court.

All these men are innocent until proven guilty, and they are just a few of many men to get busted for this in the last few years.

That being said, next time you're in Lowell and feeling lonely keep in mind that in addition to making the arrest log, you might just end up getting your picture taken if you get accused of buying love.