Includes Specific Reforms and Principles Grounded in Progressive Prosecution

BOSTON, March 25, 2019—Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins this evening announced the release of a 65-page policy memo that defines her bold vision for her office and provides specific instructions to her staff on handling the low-level, non-violent offenses that she pledged to divert, dismiss, or otherwise resolve without incarceration.

“This document is a memo to my staff, but it also fulfills a commitment I made to the community we serve,” District Attorney Rollins said. “This is a roadmap to a criminal justice system that works equally for everyone, based on research, data, and input from across the spectrum of stakeholders.”

Click here to read The Rollins Memo.

District Attorney Rollins distributed the memo to her staff earlier today in advance of this evening’s general announcement. While parts of it lay out office-wide goals to minimize the impact of the criminal justice system and reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities, it also contains specific guidelines for addressing some of the most common – but least serious – offenses that prosecutors handle in Suffolk County’s nine district and municipal courts.

“We start with a presumption that, in most cases, these charges don’t need to be prosecuted,” District Attorney Rollins said. “Dismissal, diversion, treatment, and services are much more often the appropriate outcomes.”

District Attorney Rollins thanked her staff, and in particular her executive staff and transition team, for their assistance in drafting, revising, and formatting the unprecedented policy guide – a process that utilized the expertise of prosecutors, defense attorneys, retired judges, and returning citizens in equal measure.

“I’m grateful to all of them for their input,” she said, “but most of all I’m grateful to the people of Suffolk County for placing their trust in me and supporting my mission.”

BOSTON, March 20, 2019 — Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced the indictment of an East Boston man for sexually assaulting one child, enticing another to create child pornography for him, and transmitting dozens of graphic sexual images of minors through a smartphone application.

A Suffolk County grand jury yesterday returned indictments charging DOMENIC D’AMORE, 29, of East Boston with:

BOSTON, March 18, 2019 — District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced that her office has secured a plea in a 2017 stabbing motivated by transphobic animus that seriously injured a disabled person.

DAVID DELACRUZ, 31, on Thursday pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a disabled person, assault and battery for the purposes of intimidation, and violation of the victim’s civil rights. Judge Robert Tochka sentenced the defendant to a term of five to seven years in state prison followed by two years of probation, during which time he must stay away from and have no contact with the victim, stay away from the area of Egleston Square where the attack took place, wear a GPS monitor, and undergo an alcohol abuse evaluation and any treatment deemed necessary. more »

BOSTON, March 15, 2019 — Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced that her office has secured restitution on behalf of a dozen victims who were defrauded of savings they invested in non-traditional accounts.

GUILLERMO ZAPATA, 47, formerly of Chelsea, on Monday pleaded guilty to a charge of larceny over $250 by scheme in East Boston Municipal Court. Judge John McDonald sentenced the defendant to five years of probation, during which time the defendant is barred from opening a community savings bank without proper licensure and permission from the court, must stay away from and have no contact with the victims named in the case, and write a letter of apology. At prosecutors’ request, Judge McDonald also ordered restitution be paid to the victims within 30 days. more »

BOSTON, March 11, 2019—Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced the formation of her Discharge Integrity Team, a panel she has tasked with assisting her in performing an outside review of the Feb. 22 fatal police-involved shooting on Gerard Street in Roxbury.

Fulfilling her pledge to bring in outside experts for a transparent examination of the facts in every such case, District Attorney Rollins said these team members were selected for their impartiality, reputations for excellence, and specific expertise in community advocacy, criminal prosecution and defense, police investigations, and the rules of evidence and criminal practice in Massachusetts courts. They are:

• Phillomin Laptiste, Executive Director of the Bowdoin Street Health Center. Ms. Laptiste was born and raised on Bowdoin Street and has spent her professional life as an advocate for the Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhood while pursuing public health options for all of Boston’s residents. She has direct and personal experience with homicide and the health and safety impacts of trauma.

• David E. Meier, a partner at the law firm of Todd & Weld handling criminal defense matters. Mr. Meier served as the chief of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Homicide Unit from 1996 to 2008 and oversaw all death investigations, including fatal police shooting investigations, in Suffolk County during that time. Mr. Meier played a key leadership role in the Suffolk DA’s DNA Committee, which reviewed wrongful conviction claims as the precursor to today’s Conviction Integrity Program.

• Detective Lieutenant Robert Murphy, Commanding Officer of the State Police Detective Unit assigned to District Attorney Rollins’ office. A recipient of the Superintendent’s Unit Commendation and a Hero’s Award from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Detective Lieutenant Murphy has 20 years of experience in homicide and death investigations.

• The Honorable Charles T. Spurlock (Ret.), a highly-experienced and well-respected former judge who was appointed to the Roxbury District Court bench in 1986 by Governor Michael Dukakis and went on to preside over dozens of homicide trials as an associate justice of the Superior Court from 1992 until his retirement in 2010. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Spurlock was a supervising attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Roxbury.

“These cases are incredibly complex, emotionally-charged, and extremely important to both law enforcement and the community at large,” District Attorney Rollins said. “I’m confident that Ms. Laptiste, Mr. Meier, Detective Lieutenant Murphy, and Judge Spurlock will offer valuable assistance in assessing the facts, evidence, context, and law free from any bias – or even the appearance of bias. They will bring a fresh set of eyes and a variety of experiences to an issue of great public concern.”

The DIT members will convene on at least a monthly basis to review the progress of the investigation into the Feb. 22 encounter between 36-year-old Kasim Kahrim and Boston Police officers, during which Mr. Kahrim was fatally wounded and an officer suffered multiple gunshot injuries. The DIT will meet directly with District Attorney Rollins and her top prosecutor, First Assistant DA Daniel Mulhern, whom she assigned to the investigation and who reports directly and exclusively to her. They will assess the state of the evidence, monitor the direction of the investigation, and examine the procedural steps undertaken by investigators on the ground. They will make inquiries, offer insights, and present objective opinions based on their thorough review.

The innovative creation of an outside review team to assist in officer-involved fatal shootings is believed to be unique in Massachusetts and across the nation, District Attorney Rollins said, and fulfills her campaign promise to address concerns about independence in officer-involved shootings while maintaining the District Attorney’s exclusive statutory authority to “direct and control” all death investigations.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Youth, 19, Was Slain; Six Others Injured at Chelsea Party

BOSTON, March 8, 2019—A Lynn teen pleaded guilty yesterday as his trial was set to begin on charges that he opened fire during a party three years ago, killing 19-year-old Pablo Villeda and injuring six others, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.

EMANUEL MARRERO, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with Pablo Villeda’s March 6, 2016, shooting death, as well as six counts of armed assault with intent to murder and related charges for injuries suffered by six other young people. more »

BOSTON, March 6, 2019—Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and MBTA Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green today announced indictments against a former police officer who allegedly beat a homeless man and two sergeants accused of assisting him in covering up the excessive and unlawful use of force.

“The conduct alleged in these indictments is unacceptable at every level,” District Attorney Rollins said. “The charges reflect an unprovoked armed assault by a uniformed officer on a vulnerable member of our community, followed by a joint venture with supervising officers to cover up that crime. Actions like these undermine the hard work of countless honest, professional police officers and seriously erode trust in law enforcement. Crimes against public integrity are some of the most important that my office can bring on behalf of victims and our community, and I take them extremely seriously.”

“Words cannot express the extreme disappointment I have in the officers who violated the victim’s and the public’s trust in such an egregious manner,” Chief Green said. “However I refuse to allow the corrupt actions of these individuals to tarnish the vast majority of the men and women of the Transit Police who day in and day out wear their badges and perform their duties with honor and integrity.”

Based on a lengthy investigation by Transit Police detectives and Suffolk County prosecutors, the Suffolk County Grand Jury today returned indictments charging former Transit Police Officer DORSTON BARTLETT, 65, of Lynn with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violating a person’s civil rights for allegedly using his baton to strike a 32-year-old homeless man multiple times at Ashmont station in the early morning hours of July 27, 2018.

The indictments also charge Bartlett with misleading a police officer for allegedly giving false statements to two Boston Police officers who later responded to the scene, as well as assault and battery for allegedly grabbing and pushing the victim during the booking process that followed his arrest.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury returned additional indictments charging Bartlett, Sergeant DAVID FINNERTY, 43, of Rutland and Sergeant KENNY ORCEL, 55, of Chelmsford with making a false report as a public officer or employee, and additionally indicted Finnerty and Orcel as accessories after the fact to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. These charges stem from the alleged collusion among all three to create a false incident report on Bartlett’s encounter with the victim in the hours following the assault.

At the time of the offenses, Finnerty was the shift officer in charge and Orcel was the shift patrol supervisor; both were placed on leave – and Bartlett retired – last year in the course of the investigation.

The evidence suggests that Bartlett arrested the victim after the assault and attempted to charge him with assault and battery on a police officer. In support of that charge, Finnerty allegedly drafted a report that was submitted by Bartlett and ultimately approved by Orcel. Later the same morning, a member of the Transit Police command staff learned of Bartlett’s use of force and reviewed both a preliminary draft of that report and video from public safety cameras at Ashmont station. Based on his observations, he ordered the victim released from custody, charges did not issue, and the criminal investigation was launched.

Myriah Young is the DA’s victim-witness advocate assigned to the case. Bartlett, Finnerty, and Orcel are expected to appear for arraignment on March 27.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.