A Dorchester man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury found him guilty of killing 20-year-old Daniel Yakovleff two years ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

Jurors convicted STEVEN ODEGARD (D.O.B. 8/5/67) of first-degree murder on the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty. Judge Regina Quinlan imposed the mandatory life sentence about half an hour after the noontime verdict. more »

A Southbridge man will face charges of unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm after the Massachusetts Appeals Court found Boston Police officers were justified in conducting the pat frisk that led to its recovery, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Prosecutors assigned to Conley’s Appeals Division last year challenged a Boston Municipal Court judge’s ruling that two plainclothes officers didn’t have a reasonable apprehension of danger when they became outnumbered in a South End alley while investigating a possible drug transaction. That ruling would have made it impossible to prosecute ENRIQUE CABRERA (D.O.B. 12/8/82), in whose pocket the gun was found on the night of Oct. 15, 2007. more »

A 49-year-old man was held on $150,000 cash bail at his arraignment on charges that he punched an Auburn grandmother and slashed her hand with a knife before stealing her purse during a downtown carjacking, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F Conley said.

RICHARD MORSE (D.O.B. 12/23/60) of Boston is charged with armed robbery, armed carjacking, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person 60 or older for the Nov. 2, 2009, attack on a 61-year-old grandmother near Downtown Crossing. more »

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today announced indictments charging a Roslindale man with the murder of 39-year-old Surendra Dangol during a Dec. 26 armed robbery at a Jamaica Plain convenience store.

The indictments charge EDWARD CORLISS (D.O.B. 2/7/46) with first-degree murder, armed robbery while masked, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is expected to face arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on March 3. more »

Two Dorchester teenagers, one 16 and the other 17, were held without bail today as they faced murder and robbery charges stemming from the fatal shooting of 71-year-old Geraldo Serrano in an Upham’s Corner convenience store Sunday morning, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Acting on Suffolk prosecutors’ requests, Roxbury District Court Judge Robert J. McKenna withheld bail and ordered MARTIN FREELES (D.O.B. 1/21/93) and ONYX WHITE (D.O.B. 10/6/93) to return to court on April 23. Both youths are charged with murder, armed robbery while masked, and firearms offenses. more »

A Dorchester youth was sentenced to more than two years in jail today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury found him guilty of unlawfully carrying a loaded handgun into English High School, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Prosecutors assigned to Conley’s Gang Unit recommended a 3- to 5-year state prison term for WALTER WEST, Jr (D.O.B. 10/26/91). Judge Frank Gaziano sentenced West to 2½ years in a house of correction to be followed by 2 years of probation. more »

Jury selection is expected to begin today for the re-trial of two men accused of gunning down 28-year-old Cedirick Steele across the street from a Boston middle school in 2007.

ANTWAN CARTER (D.O.B. 10/13/88) and DANIEL PINCKNEY, Jr. (D.O.B. 7/4/88), both of Boston’s South End, are both charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm for their alleged roles in Steele’s fatal shooting on March 14, 2007. Steele was shot and killed in broad daylight as he stood across the street from Roxbury’s James P. Timilty Middle School waiting for his mother. more »

The suspect in a gunpoint carjacking yesterday who crashed a stolen vehicle first into a taxi and then into a tree was held on high bail for his Boston case and had his bail revoked on two unrelated cases in other jurisdictions, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

MICHAEL FITZPATRICK (D.O.B. 5/31/57) was arraigned today in the Boston Municipal Court on charges of carjacking, armed assault with intent to rob, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. Assistant District Attorney Vincent DeMore recommended that he be held on $250,000 cash bail; Judge Mark Summerville set bail at $100,000 and revoked Fitzpatrick’s bail on open cases in Quincy and Orange district courts. more »

A Dorchester youth already charged with multiple stabbings in Boston was arraigned today for additional offenses he allegedly committed in Revere, Suffolk County District attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The 16-YEAR-OLD MALE, whose name is not being released because of his age, was charged in Chelsea District Court with delinquency, to wit: armed assault with intent to murder, breaking and entering, and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $100,000 cash, an amount above and beyond the $1.5 million bail set following his arraignment in the Juvenile Session of Dorchester District Court earlier this month. more »

“What happened to Daniel Yakovleff was unworldly,” a senior Suffolk homicide prosecutor told a Superior Court jury today in the beloved hairstylist’s alleged killer’s murder trial. “It was beyond contemplation.”

Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, deputy chief of the Suffolk DA’s Homicide Unit, said he could not explain why STEVEN ODEGARD (D.O.B. 8/5/67) allegedly stabbed Yakovleff more than a dozen times, killing him, but that overwhelming evidence showed that he did. more »

“Saturday, May 5, 2007, was Sylvester Mitchell’s 40th birthday, and he intended to celebrate on Friday and Saturday into Sunday morning,” a top domestic violence prosecutor told a Superior Court jury this morning. “He ultimately spent the morning hours of May 5 bleeding to death.”

During opening statements in the murder trial of Mitchell’s wife, SHARON FITZPATRICK (D.O.B. 7/26/71), Assistant District Attorney David Deakin, chief of the Suffolk DA’s Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, told the court that on the evening of May 4, Mitchell made plans to go out to a bar with friends to celebrate his birthday. Mitchell told his wife that he would return to their Evans Street home before midnight, Deakin said. more »

A Massachusetts State trooper and two alleged co-conspirators have been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury for allegedly colluding to provide fraudulent vehicle inspection forms in exchange for cash payments, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

The indictments, returned Tuesday, charge ROBERT A. FORREST, Jr. (D.O.B. 7/30/48) of Stoneham, a State trooper relieved from duty since last summer; BERNALDO HERNANDEZ (D.O.B. 5/20/62) of Lynn; and KENNETH LAFAUCI (D.O.B. 4/16/57) of Topsfield with one count each of bribery, making a false statement in an application for a title certificate, conspiracy to commit bribery, and conspiracy to make a false statement in an application for a title certificate. more »

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today rejected an Allston man’s claim that he was not criminally responsible for his estranged wife’s murder, convicting him of first-degree murder for Gin Hua Xu’s homicide in his Cambridge Street apartment nine years ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Jurors convicted DA LIN HUANG (D.O.B. 3/16/63) after about three full days of deliberations, finding that he acted with extreme atrocity or cruelty when he stabbed the mother of his two children dozens of times in the head with a pair of electrician’s pliers, strangled her, and mutilated her remains. more »

Three men charged with the shooting deaths of Angelo Henderson, Jaison Jenkins, and Anthony Williams on Floyd Street more than five years ago were ordered held without bail at their arraignments yesterday, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

“As prosecutors, we’re constantly trying to substantiate, corroborate, and verify the evidence,” Conley said. “One of the most effective tools in doing that is the Suffolk County Grand Jury. Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors didn’t quit on this case five years ago and we won’t quit now.” more »

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today announced the identification of a suspect in a previously unsolved 1972 murder, saying that the same man – who died in 2001 – also raped a woman in 1985.

After a renewed investigation bolstered by forensic technology unavailable at the times of the offenses, Davis and Conley named MICHAEL SUMPTER (D.O.B. 9/26/47) of Roxbury as the prime suspect in two attacks in Boston’s Back Bay: the 1972 murder of Ellen Rutchick, 23, in her Beacon Street residence and the 1985 rape of a 21-year-old woman in her Marlboro Street residence. more »

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today announced convictions for murder and other offenses in the trial of a woman who started a South Boston house fire that claimed the lives of 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her 2-year-old sister, Acia.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury late this afternoon found NICOLE CHUMINSKI (D.O.B. 5/19/82) of South Boston guilty of two counts of second-degree murder for the children’s deaths. Jurors also convicted her of arson for setting the blaze and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon – smoke and flames – for injuries sustained by the girls’ mother and brother, who survived the fire. more »

Jury selection is scheduled to begin today for the trial of a Dorchester woman accused of stabbing her husband, Sylvester Mitchell, to death on the morning of his 40th birthday.

SHARON FITZPATRICK (D.O.B. 7/26/71) is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly stabbing Mitchell to death during an argument in their Evans Street home at about 4:30 a.m. on May 5, 2007. Fitzpatrick was allegedly angry at him because he came home later than expected that morning. In addition to stabbing him twice in the chest, Fitzpatrick allegedly slashed a tire on his vehicle. more »

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis today announced the arrests of three men in connection with the fatal shootings of three men on Floyd Street in 2004.

Taken into custody today on warrants charging them with the murders of Angelo Henderson, 19; Jaison Jenkins, 24; and Anthony Williams, 24, were: more »

A man who allegedly stabbed his wife to death with a pair of pliers and a woman who allegedly set fire to her girlfriend’s home, killing the two children trapped inside, await judgment by two juries after their respective trials ended with lawyers’ closing arguments today.

DA LIN HUANG (D.O.B. 3/16/63) is charged with first-degree murder for the homicide of his 30-year-old wife, Gin Hua Xu, in his Allston apartment on the afternoon of Jan. 27, 2001. Xu was stabbed repeatedly with a pair of electrician’s pliers and her body was mutilated after her death. more »

A Jamaican national who for almost 15 years eluded capture for the murder of Zandera Sullivan was held without bail today after details of the fatal stabbing were presented in court, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ANTHONY PATRICK BROWN, a.k.a. DERRICK MALLOY, 36, was formally charged today with counts of first-degree murder and armed home invasion – offenses for which he was indicted by a Suffolk grand jury about a month after Sullivan’s May 29, 1995, homicide. Granting a request by Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Lundgren of Conley’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson ordered Brown held without bail. more »

A Roxbury man was held on $5,000 cash bail today following his arraignment for allegedly forcing his hands down a young woman’s pants last week, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RAPHAEL COX (D.O.B. 1/28/93) was arraigned in West Roxbury District Court for the Feb. 4 incident. Prosecutors say he indecently assaulted a 19-year-old female on Seaverns Avenue shortly before 8:30 a.m. If he should post bail, Cox must abide by a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew, Conley said. more »

Following the success of last year’s tournament, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s second annual Basketball for Peace event is coming to Dorchester next week with local businesses pitching in and a former Boston Celtics player making a return appearance.

Employees of Best Buy will be on hand with complimentary gift cards for every young player and representatives of The Olive Garden will provide food and drinks for up to 100 attendees. Former Boston Celtics guard and Hub native Dana Barros will join in the fun as well. The event is scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 18 at the Lilla G. Fredericks Middle School, located at 270 Columbia Rd. in Dorchester. more »

A Roslindale man was charged with open and gross lewdness last week after multiple passengers on his subway car reported to Transit Police that he was masturbating while en route to Forest Hills.

MIL DELACRUZ (D.O.B. 2/19/82) was arraigned Friday in West Roxbury District Court following his arrest by Transit Police on Thursday afternoon. Suffolk prosecutors recommended that he be held on $5000 cash bail; Judge Kathleen Coffey set bail at $300 and ordered him to stay off the MBTA during the pendency of his case, undergo alcohol abuse treatment, report to the Department of Probation weekly, and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. more »

The young man who shot off-duty Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot to death near a baseball field two years ago will serve a state prison sentence for possessing the murder weapon before he even begins the life term mandated by his murder conviction, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Patrick F. Brady sentenced ROBERT IACOVIELLO, Jr. (D.O.B. 6/19/87) to three years for unlawfully possessing the 9mm semiautomatic handgun he used to shoot Talbot in the head on the morning of Sept. 29, 2007, to be followed by a life in state prison. Because jurors convicted Iacoviello of second-degree murder, he will be eligible for – though not guaranteed – parole after serving 15 years of that sentence. more »

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today found a Revere man guilty of murder for shooting Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot in the head, killing him, and convicted his co-defendant of helping to destroy and dispose of the murder weapon, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Jurors convicted ROBERT IACOVIELLO, Jr. (D.O.B. 6/19/87), of second-degree murder and JAMES HEANG (D.O.B. 6/19/90) of being an accessory after the fact to that murder. Judge Patrick Brady will sentence both men on Friday at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 815. more »

A Roxbury man has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison for his arrest with a high-capacity firearm in the aftermath of a Dorchester shooting two years ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury on Friday convicted MARVIN D. MINOR, Jr. (D.O.B. 5/28/83), of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a high-capacity weapon, and receiving a firearm with an obliterated serial number. At a second proceeding, Judge Marita Hopkins found Minor to be an armed career criminal based on his 2001 conviction for a non-fatal stabbing and a 2002 conviction for distributing crack cocaine. more »

After playing in a nearby park with their brother and a friend on the evening of April 5, 2008, 14-year-old Acia Johnson took her 2-year-old sister, Sophia, back to their West 6th Street home and carried the little girl up to her third-floor bedroom, a Suffolk County homicide prosecutor told a Superior Court jury this morning as their alleged killer’s trial began.

“What Acia didn’t realize,” Assistant District Attorney David Fredette said, “was that with every step she took, she was sealing her fate and Sophia’s fate.”

As the children slept, Fredette told jurors and a rapt courtroom audience, NICOLE CHUMINSKI (D.O.B. 5/19/82) arrived at their home and began to bang on the door. more »

“He knew how he wanted to kill her,” the top prosecuting attorney in Suffolk County told a Superior Court jury about Gin Hua Xu’s 2001 murder. “There was a motive and there was a plan.”

Delivering his opening statement in the murder trial of Xu’s husband, DA LIN HUANG (D.O.B. 3/16/63), First Assistant District Attorney Josh Wall said the 30-year-old Xu had asked for a divorce from Huang and was waiting for his answer.

“You will hear that on Jan. 27, 2001, she got her answer,” Wall told the panel of jurors. “You will hear that the answer he gave her was the clearest of all answers – the most definitive answer. His answer to his wife? He killed her.” more »