Commonwealth v. D.L. – Barnstable District Court

ATTORNEY GERALD J. NOONAN GETS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGE AGAINST DEFENDANT FOR ASSAULTING HIS 17 YEAR-OLD SON DISMISSED AND CHARGE OF ASSAULT & BATTERY ON A POLICE OFFICER TO BE DISMISSED IN ONE-YEAR RESULTING IN NO CONVICTION OR ADMISSION TO ANY WRONGDOING BY THE DEFENDANT

Sandwich Police were called to the Defendant’s residence for a report of a domestic dispute between two parents and their four children. Two of the children called 911 to report that their parents were out of control. Upon arrival, policed heard yelling and screaming coming from inside the home. Defendant’s wife was yelling and screaming at police that they were not allowed inside their residence and she was described as being highly volatile. Police instructed the Defendant to sit down in a chair. However, Defendant began to yell at his daughter and proceeded to stand up when a police officer shined his flashlight into the Defendant’s eyes to distract him. In response, the Defendant swung his right arm and knocked the flashlight out of the officer’s hands, causing the flashlight to spin in the air. Officers forced the Defendant back into his chair and handcuffed him. Police spoke to the Defendant’s 17 year-old son who reported that the Defendant got right into his face, yelled at him, “Do you want me to beat you?” and pushed his son into the couch. The other son corroborated that the Defendant stated, “Do you want me to beat you?” Defendant was charged with Assault and Battery on a Police Officer (G.L. c. 265, §13D) and Assault and Battery on a Family / Household Member (G.L. c. 265, §13M).

Result: Attorney Gerald J. Noonan had the 17 year-old son (the victim of the assault and battery) interviewed. The son stated that he was enlisting in the military and he had no desire to testify against his father. Attorney Noonan informed the Commonwealth that the son had no desire to testify against his client and would most likely be unavailable at trial due to his military service. Attorney Noonan placed the Commonwealth on notice that his client acted in self-defense in knocking the flashlight out of the officer’s hands to defend himself against the strong and intense beam of light that was shined directly into his eyes, which could cause temporary blindness or other injury. Attorney Noonan was prepared to file a motion for discovery to obtain the make and model of the police officer’s flashlight to establish the strength of the beam of light. For example, one particular police flashlight has an LED beam so strong that it can blast the distance of four football fields. Another particular police flashlight has a super bright beam of 425 lumens reaching 352 yards, and another model has 700 lumens. Attorney Noonan persuades the District Attorney to dismiss the domestic violence charge. For the Assault and Battery on a Police Officer charge, the prosecutor offered the Defendant Pretrial Probation for one-year with the condition to undergo anger management counseling. If the Defendant complies with probation, the charge will be dismissed. This is a good disposition because the Defendant is not required to admit that he committed the offense or admit to any wrongdoing and his record will reflect that the charge was dismissed with no conviction or adverse finding.