BOSTON, April 30, 2012—A Suffolk Superior Court jury this afternoon convicted a Mission Hill woman of stabbing her neighbor during a dispute two years ago over a parking spot the victim had shoveled out, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Jurors convicted CARMEN ANDINO (D.O.B. 10/30/71) of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the 2010 incident, which sent a 24-year-old woman to the hospital with serious injuries to her face and the area under her left arm. more »

BOSTON, April 30, 2012—The Billerica truck driver who allegedly lied to the grand jury investigating Rebecca Payne’s murder was held on high bail today after a weekend spent awaiting his arraignment on multiple perjury indictments, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Arrested Saturday morning and held since that time, MICHAEL BALBA (D.O.B. 3/1/57) was arraigned today on four counts of perjury for allegedly lying repeatedly to the Suffolk County Grand Jury as it investigated Payne’s May 20, 2008, shooting death. more »

BOSTON, April 30, 2012—Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today announced that a suspect is expected in court this afternoon for the February beating death of 50-year-old Roosevelt Harris in his Roxbury apartment.

CRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ (D.O.B. 7/19/76), who was a neighbor in Harris’ Tremont Street apartment building, faces a murder charge in connection with the older man’s death. He is expected in the arraignment session of Roxbury District Court today at 2:00 p.m. more »

 BOSTON, April 27, 2012—The Suffolk County Grand Jury today returned indictments charging a fugitive murder suspect with the shooting deaths of two sisters in Dorchester last year, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The indictments charge JEAN WEEVINS JANVIER (D.O.B. 11/15/81), formerly of Dorchester, with two counts of first-degree murder for the Nov. 14, 2011, homicides of Judith Emile, 23, and her sister, Stephanie Emile, 21, inside their Harlem Street apartment, and unlawful possession of the firearm with which they were killed. more »

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley (center left) delivers $5,000 in seized drug money to Alan Klein, Sr. (center right), vice president and chief operating officer of the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, along with teens from the Perkins Community Center in Dorchester. The money will fund a program that diverts certain court-involved Dorchester youth from incarceration through support and intervention.

BOSTON, April 26, 2012—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley this week delivered $5,000 to a Dorchester program that diverts certain juvenile defendants from incarceration by connecting them with services, supervision, and advocacy.

Conley delivered the funds – drawn from cash and assets seized from drug traffickers in Suffolk County narcotics prosecutions – on April 24 to the Detention Diversion Advocacy Program, an initiative undertaken by the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps.

“As prosecutors, our primary mission is service” Conley said. “A program like this one, which can reduce the rates of incarceration among young, low-level offenders while still holding them accountable for their actions, doesn’t just benefit its participants. It benefits the entire community and our shared future by putting them back on track to succeed.” more »

BOSTON, April 24, 2012—For the second time in as many years, a Suffolk Superior Court judge has denied a motion for a new trial in the 2005 murder of Sgt. Richard Dever, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

FRANCIS X. LANG (D.O.B. 10/27/74) of Charlestown is currently serving a life term for killing Dever in front of Sullivan’s Pub in Charlestown on March 19, 2005. The victim, a 35-year-old off-duty corrections officer, was one of several people who escorted Lang from the bar just before 12:30 a.m. after the defendant became unruly and aggressive inside; Lang slashed his face and stabbed him four times in the chest, killing him. more »

BOSTON, April 23, 2012—Two men accused of unrelated murders were arraigned in Suffolk County courts today after their separate arrests this weekend, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

“These were very different cases,” Conley said. “They had different victims in different neighborhoods with different facts and circumstances. But what they had in common was a determination by police, prosecutors, and victim support staff to find justice for the lives lost and speak for them in court. Like every violent crime in Suffolk County, they got the benefit of a comprehensive investigation by men and women who won’t rest until the job is done.” more »

BOSTON, April 22—A member of Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s Gang Unit has been selected as the first prosecutor to train with police from across the United States and Central America in the five-year history of a law enforcement exchange program aimed at disrupting violent street gangs.

Assistant District Attorney Barrett Hyde will join municipal and state police from six US states and seven Central American countries as part of the Central American Law Enforcement Exchange, a program coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Gang Task Force and funded by the US Department of State. more »

BOSTON, April 22, 2012—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis today announced the arrest of an East Boston man wanted for the beating death of 47-year-old Michael Costa in East Boston.

Chelsea Police, aware of a be-on-the-lookout request from Boston authorities, this morning apprehended JEAN TORRES VARGAS (D.O.B. 2/2/81), more commonly known as “Tyson,” on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder. Vargas was indicted March 14 on that charge and had been sought since he failed to appear at his April 9 arraignment. more »

Boston, April 20, 2012—A double stabbing defendant won’t be Truckin’ anytime soon after a Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted him of attacking two people last year as a rally for the Grateful Dead was under way nearby, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

MIGUEL MORALES (D.O.B. 1/20/82), who had no fixed address at the time of the incident, was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for using a butterfly knife with a six-inch blade to stab two men on the evening of March 6, 2011. He faces sentencing next week. more »

BOSTON, April 20, 2012—A Roslindale man and his Mission Hill associate were arraigned today for their roles in the Oct. 16, 2011, stabbing death of 19-year-old Kenneth Soto, with the alleged principal remaining held without bail, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury late last month indicted HECTOR “NEMO” SOTO (D.O.B. 3/16/91), who is not related to the victim, for first-degree murder and CHRISTIAN RIVERA (D.O.B. 12/17/88) of Mission Hill for assault and battery and accessory to murder after the fact. more »

BOSTON, April 20, 2012—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis are asking the public to be on the lookout for a fugitive murder suspect wanted for the fatal beating of 47-year-old Michael Costa in East Boston.

JEAN TORRES VARGAS (D.O.B. 2/2/81), more commonly known as “Tyson,” has been indicted for first-degree murder in Costa’s death late last year. He stands about 5’5” tall, weighs about 175 lbs., and has brown eyes and brown hair. He has a large and distinctive tattoo on his left shoulder and upper arm, as well as a series of parallel scars on his right forearm.

Jean Vargas Torres, aka "Tyson," is wanted for murder

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BOSTON, April 19, 2012—A man already serving prison time on a gun conviction was arraigned today for the homicide of 21-year-old Demetrius Blocker, almost a year and a half after the young man was gunned down, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Acting on a request by Assistant District Attorney David Fredette of Conley’s Homicide Unit, Roxbury Municipal Court Judge Pamela Dashiell ordered KEITH HOBBS (D.O.B. 2/1/86) held without bail pending trial for Blocker’s Dec. 16, 2010, shooting death in the rear parking area of a Horadan Way building at about 4:30 p.m. more »

BOSTON, April 18, 2012—A 12-year-old boy was arraigned yesterday after Boston Police officers recovered a loaded handgun from the Roxbury yard where they’d seen him toss something, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Assistant District Attorney Brooke Watson of Conley’s Juvenile Unit recommended that the Roxbury youth be held on $10,000 cash bail or, in the alternative, house arrest with GPS moinitoring. Boston Juvenile Court Judge Paul Lewis imposed the $10,000 cash bail. more »

BOSTON, April 13, 2012—A Dorchester woman admitted yesterday to stealing more than $20,000 in government funds intended for her mother, who had died of cancer years earlier, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

EBONY BENSON (D.O.B. 3/13/78) pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny over $250 by single scheme. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol Ball sentenced her to three years of probation and ordered her to make full restitution for the stolen benefits. more »

Janet Fine (left), executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance, presents Kara Hayes with the Access to Justice Award at the State House. Hayes and Trooper Anthony Alestock (in background) received the award, presented annually to those “whose leadership and outreach efforts have made victim rights and services more available and accessible to underserved populations.”

Boston, April 11, 2012—Three members of Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office were recognized at the State House today for their work on behalf of the victims and survivors of violent crime.

The Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance honored Kara Hayes, the chief of Conley’s Victim Witness Assistance Program, and Trooper Anthony Alestock, a State Police detective assigned to Conley’s office, with the Access to Justice Award, which is presented annually to those “whose leadership and outreach efforts have made victim rights and services more available and accessible to underserved populations.” more »

Authorities have tentatively identified the remains of a young man pulled from the Chestnut Hill Reservoir as Franco Garcia, a Boston College student missing since late February, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

Conley stressed that a positive identification has yet to be made and that a comprehensive investigation is undertaken for every sudden or unattended death within his jurisdiction.  more »

A Medford man and his Winthrop girlfriend were arraigned in Chelsea District Court yesterday for a vicious beating on board an MBTA train last month, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

PAUL MUCCI (D.O.B. 11/3/63) is charged with mayhem and armed assault with intent to murder for inflicting serious injuries during the March 24 incident on board a Blue Line train, while his associate, PAULA HOWARD (D.O.B. 11/8/61), is charged with armed assault with intent to murder for allegedly sharing the intent and attempting to help Mucci assault the victim. more »

The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts late last week denied a twice-convicted murderer any further hearings on the 1995 stabbing death of Sharliee Banks, 33, in her Washington Avenue apartment, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The state’s highest court on Friday notified Conley’s office and counsel for WILLIAM LAPAGE (D.O.B. 8/20/52) that it had denied Lapage’s request for further review of a Jan. 31, 2012, decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirming his most recent murder conviction.

“For the families left behind, an appeal can reopen wounds that never fully heal,” Conley said. “In a case like this, tried to two convictions but still active with motions for new trials and appellate review, loved ones might ask themselves when it will ever end. At last, we can say with confidence: it ends here.”

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The man who stabbed 24-year-old West Roxbury resident Gregory Phillips to death near an Allston bar was sentenced to life in prison today after jurors convicted him of murder, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Jurors found COREY PATTERSON (D.O.B. 11/5/86) of Dorchester guilty of second-degree murder and three counts of assault and battery on a public employee after three weeks of trial and about three days of deliberations. About 20 minutes before returning their verdicts, jurors sent a note to Judge Raymond Brassard asking if they could infer malice – a key element of murder – from the use of a dangerous weapon; Brassard told them that they were permitted to make that inference. more »

Young members of the Revere Police Athletic League join DA Dan Conley (middle row, center left in suit and tie) after he delivered a check for $5,000 in money seized from drug dealers to help support the league. Joining Conley are Revere Police Chief Joseph Cafarelli, League Director Kris Oldoni, and Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley last week delivered $5,000 in seized drug money to an agency that keeps Revere kids off drugs, away from gangs, and on the right track for success.

Conley delivered the check to Community Action Projects Inter-City, Inc., or CAPIC, on March 27 as part of his annual Asset Forfeiture Reinvestment Program, which takes cash and assets seized during narcotics prosecutions and puts them back into the community through agencies that work to keep kids and teens safe.

In addition to providing a broad array of social services to North Shore communities, CAPIC works with the young members of the Revere Police Athletic League and gives presentations on substance abuse and gang violence to school-age youth. The funds delivered by Conley will help maintain the league throughout the year, providing those young people with a safe, positive, and structured environment.

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