An East Boston man was arraigned this week on charges he broke into a Trenton Street apartment, then claimed to the resident that he was a police officer, Suffolk County Daniel F. Conley said.

RALPH GASKELL (D.O.B. 4/30/52) was arraigned Wednesday in East Boston Municipal Court on charges of breaking and entering a building during the daytime with intent to commit a felony and impersonating a police officer.  Prosecutors requested bail of $25,000; Judge John McDonald set bail at $2,500. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 30, 2015—A Suffolk County prosecutor who also serves in the Army National Guard was promoted to the rank of major today during a ceremony at the Boston Veterans Treatment Court, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Assistant District Attorney Brett D. Walker, a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and veteran of active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, was formally elevated from his prior rank of captain this morning alongside defendants currently obtaining treatment and services through the Veterans Court. A Suffolk prosecutor since 2013, Walker is one of two combat veterans assigned to the program, which provides supervision to veterans who are charged with low-level criminal offenses in the City of Boston. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 29, 2015—A Somerville man was arraigned today on charges he stabbed another man during an early morning fight in the North End, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

EVAN COBB (D.O.B. 2/16/93) was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and carrying a dangerous weapon.  Assistant District Attorney Anthony Rizzo requested bail of $10,000; Judge Catherine Byrne released Cobb on his own recognizance. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2015—A Needham resident and his Dorchester associate were arraigned today on armed robbery and related charges after they allegedly robbed a man at gunpoint while wearing masks, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

KOSTYA RAGIN (D.O.B. 12/27/95) of Needham and ANDRONIQUE DOSSANTOS (D.O.B. 2/26/97) of Dorchester were arraigned today in Dorchester Municipal Court on charges of armed robbery while masked and assault with a dangerous weapon. Ragin was additionally charged with assault and battery.

Assistant District Attorney Julien Mundele recommended $50,000 cash bail for each defendant, plus orders that they wear GPS monitoring devices and stay away from the location of the offense, and abide by a curfew if they post that amount. Judge Serge Georges, Jr., imposed $3,500 bail for Ragin and $2,500 for Dossantos, with all of the requested conditions of release for both defendants. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2015—Two men have been sentenced to prison in the 2012 killing of 42-year-old Orlando Guerrero during a robbery in Boston’s South End, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LUIS DIAZ (D.O.B. 8/9/84) on Wednesday pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition in connection with Guerrero’s shooting death.  Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke sentenced him to 15 to 17 years in state prison followed by two years of probation, during which he must remain drug-free and undergo any drug treatment deemed necessary. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 26, 2015—A woman who allegedly shot and killed her uncle, 49-year-old Clive Francis, was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation at her arraignment today on a murder charge, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

YVONNE LEWIS, 36, is accused of shooting Davis on Saturday afternoon at the Hyde Park home of a relative with whom she had been staying. After she spoke with the West Roxbury Municipal Court clinician, Judge Kathleen Coffey ordered the 20-day evaluation at a secure facility. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 26, 2015— A Domestic Violence Awareness Month fundraiser organized by members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office last week raised more than $2,100 to support the city’s largest provider of services to domestic violence survivors, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The second annual fundraiser for Casa Myrna Vazquez, organized by Christine Berardino and Kerry Kolditz of the DA’s Victim Witness Assistance Program, netted a total of $2,140 in ticket sales and raffle purchases.  More than 80 people attended the event Friday at the Bell in Hand Tavern to support efforts to provide survivors of domestic violence shelter, housing assistance, financial literacy education, counseling, and legal advocacy to help them achieve safety and self-sufficiency. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 23, 2015—A 16-year-old Dorchester youth was held without bail today on a murder charge stemming from the fatal stabbing of Mason Raymond at Jackson Square station, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RONALDO CEPEDA (D.O.B. 3/3/99) was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court for the incident yesterday afternoon. Although he is a juvenile, Massachusetts law mandates that all murder defendants aged 14 or older are charged as adults. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 23, 2015—The Boston Police officer who fired on Remis Michael Andrews during a domestic violence call did so only after Andrews lunged at him with two large knives and a carving fork in an enclosed space, and will not face criminal charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said at the conclusion of his investigation into the fatal shooting.

“Specifically, the investigation revealed that Officer [David] Hansford was confronted with an armed and aggressive individual in extremely close quarters and responded to an immediate threat of death or great bodily injury to himself, his fellow officers, and five other people in the apartment,” Conley wrote in a report memorializing his findings. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 21, 2015—A man who struck a Boston Police officer with a stolen police cruiser two years ago has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ (D.O.B. 10/20/75) today pleaded guilty to charges of armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, larceny of a motor vehicle, negligent operation, leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury, resisting arrest, larceny over $250, larceny under $250, and two counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony.  Suffolk Superior Court Judge Peter Krupp sentenced Rodriguez to 10 to 12 years in state prison, which will run concurrently with a five-year sentence he is currently serving after he violated the terms of his probation on an earlier larceny case. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 20, 2015—Three people have been arraigned in connection with the exchange of gunfire outside a crowded MBTA station last week, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

KISEAN PARKER (D.O.B. 8/13/97) of Roxbury and KEVASIA LOWE (D.O.B. 9/15/97) of Mattapan were arraigned yesterday in West Roxbury Court. ROBERT ACOSTA (D.O.B. 9/14/97) appeared for arraignment in the same courthouse today in connection with the shots fired during the Friday morning rush near Forest Hills MBTA Station. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 20, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today invited non-profit organizations that work with kids and teens to apply for his annual series of cash awards that provide the young people of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop with constructive alternatives to crime and drug use.

The annual funds, which total $50,000 this year, are disbursed from Conley’s Asset Forfeiture Community Reinvestment Program. The program takes cash and assets seized in drug trafficking prosecutions and awards them to non-profit organizations that help Suffolk County’s young people avoid drugs, gangs, and other risky activity. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 20, 2015—A Quincy livery driver was sentenced to prison yesterday for kidnapping, raping, and stealing from a female passenger in South Boston last year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

SAID SAID (D.O.B. 2/3/74) a.k.a HASHI K. SAID faced sentencing yesterday after a Suffolk Superior Court jury last month found him guilty of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, indecent assault and battery, assault and battery, larceny from a person, and improper use of a credit card over $250.  Assistant District Attorney Amy Martin of the DA’s Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Unit requested a term of 10 to 15 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation. Judge Garry Inge imposed a sentence of six to eight years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation.  more »

BOSTON, Oct. 16, 2015—One month to the day after Luis Bodden-Maximo was shot dead, three men were ordered held without bail in connection with his Mission Hill homicide, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

LEE GILL (D.O.B. 8/19/91) of Natick, JEROME MEADE (D.O.B. 1/21/94) of Lynn, and JAVIER SMITH (D.O.B. 3/9/96) of Roxbury were arraigned on murder charges today in West Roxbury Municipal Court. Meade was additionally arraigned on a count of unlawful possession of a firearm. The charges relate to Bodden-Maximo’s Sept. 16 shooting death in the parking lot of 1620 Tremont St. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 15, 2015—A former Dorchester youth hockey coach was arraigned today on charges he sexually assaulted a young player after taking the boy under his wing, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ROBERT RICHARDSON (D.O.B. 12/8/53) appeared on a summons to Suffolk Superior Court, where he was formally charged with three counts of rape of a child.  Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson set bail in the amount of $500 and ordered Richardson to have no direct or indirect contact with the victim. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2015—A once-prominent hockey coach has been indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a young player during the 1990s, a series of offenses that the victim disclosed to authorities for the first time last year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The indictments, returned Sept. 30, charge ROBERT RICHARDSON (D.O.B. 12/8/53) of Dorchester with three counts of rape of a child for offenses beginning in 1991, when the victim was 13 years old. He will be arraigned tomorrow in the Magistrate’s Session of Suffolk Superior Court. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s top courtroom prosecutor today laid out the once-cold case of Lena Bruce, whose murder more than 20 years ago was solved with the help of DNA evidence unavailable when she was found dead in her South End home.

First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Haggan told Suffolk Superior Court Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson that JAMES WITKOWSKI (D.O.B. 11/27/72) had been identified as a suspect after a DNA match between crime scene evidence and a sample he was ordered to provide in light of two felony convictions. more »

BOSTON, Oct 14, 2015—Barbara Coyne was remembered by her family as a loving matriarch and fighter to the moment she was brutally murdered as the man who killed her was sentenced to life in prison today.

TIMOTHY KOSTKA (D.O.B.4/28/85) of South Boston was sentenced today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury on Friday found Kostka guilty of first-degree murder and home invasion for killing 67-year-old Coyne during a robbery of her East 7^th Street home on April 16, 2012.  Judge Mitchell Kaplan imposed a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole – the mandatory sentence for murder one – and a concurrent term of 20 to 25 years in prison on the offense of home invasion.  Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight, chief of the DA’s Elders and Persons with Disabilities Unit, had asked Kaplan to impose the sentences to run consecutively. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 9, 2015—A South Boston man has been convicted of all charges in the homicide of 67-year-old Barbara Coyne during a 2012 robbery at her East 7^th Street home, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

After about two full days of deliberations, a Suffolk Superior Court jury today found TIMOTHY KOSTKA (D.O.B.4/28/85) guilty of home invasion and first-degree murder under the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty in Coyne’s stabbing death.  Sentencing will take place Wednesday, at which time Judge Mitchell Kaplan is expected to impose the mandatory term for first-degree murder of life in prison without the possibility of parole. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 8, 2015—A West Roxbury man with a six-month jail term hanging over his head was arraigned in his hospital bed today on charges he stabbed two men after being asked to leave a neighborhood grocery store, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

KRISTOPHER SODERBERG (D.O.B. 11/18/76) was arraigned in his hospital bed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on a charge of armed assault with intent to rob and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  At the request of Assistant District Attorney Christina Kemp, West Roxbury Municipal Court Justice Kathleen Coffey imposed bail of $10,000 and ordered Soderberg to remain alcohol-free subject to random alcohol screening, stay away and have no contact with his victims, and stay away from Familia Grocery in the event he is released on bail.  Soderberg was additionally ordered held without bail pending a hearing on the violation of his suspended sentence.  more »

BOSTON, Oct. 8, 2015—A Dorchester man who was driving without a license has been indicted for manslaughter and other offenses in the crash that killed 18-year-old Fritz Philogene, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury returned indictments charging GREGORY McCOY (D.O.B. 1/10/88) with manslaughter while operating under the influence, leaving the scene of a collision causing death, leaving the scene of a collision causing injury, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. McCoy is expected to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 7, 2015—A man was held on high bail for assault with intent to murder and other charges in an assault that left the victim with life-threatening injuries, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ATHONY BURGOS (D.O.B. 11/24/69) a.k.a ANTONIO BURGOS, who has no fixed address, was arraigned yesterday in Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and other offenses.  Assistant District Attorney Dana Pierce requested that Burgos’ bail be set at $100,000 and that his bail be revoked in an open case out of the same court.  Judge Sally Kelly imposed $50,000 bail and revoked Burgos’ open bail. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of House Bill 1577, An Act Relative to Gender Identity and Nondiscrimination, and Senate Bill 735, An Act Relative to Transgender Anti-Discrimination: more »

BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2015—More than four years after 28-year-old Terrance Johnson was shot to death in Dorchester, the Suffolk County Grand Jury has indicted his alleged killer for first-degree murder, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans announced.

The indictment, returned yesterday, charges JOAO F. VICENTE (D.O.B. 8/15/89) with shooting Johnson in the back of the head near the corner of Humphreys Street and Humphreys Place just after 8:10 p.m. on the night of May 31, 2011, killing him. Vicente allegedly fled the scene on foot, then travelled almost immediately to Springfield, Massachusetts. more »

BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2015—The man who murdered off-duty corrections officer Sgt. Richard Dever outside a Charlestown bar will not receive a new trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

In a decision re-issued yesterday after being withdrawn earlier this year, the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the first-degree murder conviction of FRANCIS X. LANG (D.O.B. 10/27/74) of Charlestown in the 2005 stabbing death of 35-year-old Dever. more »

BOSTON, Sept. 23, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following remarks on the indictment of JAMES WITKOWSKI (D.O.B. 11/27/72) for the 1992 murder of 21-year-old Lena Bruce in Boston’s South End:

“More than a quarter century ago, a young woman named Lena Bruce came to the Boston area from her hometown of Philadelphia to study at Tufts University. She graduated with honors in May of 1992, the only African American woman in her class to receive a degree in electrical engineering. more »