Massachusetts
Massachusetts defendant arrested by ICE reportedly had drug trafficking charges tossed due to Annie Dookhan lab scandal
The Boston defendant who was arrested by ICE agents outside the courthouse during his trial last week reportedly had his past drug trafficking charges tossed due to the Annie Dookhan lab scandal.
Wilson Martell-LeBron was detained by ICE agents last Thursday outside the Boston Municipal Court Central Edward W. Brooke Courthouse — following the start of his trial for allegedly making a false statement on an RMV application and possession of a forged RMV document.
The feds claim that he’s an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, who’s allegedly named Juan Carlos Baez. They arrested him mid-trial and brought him to a detention facility in Plymouth.
In the wake of that shocking mid-trial detainment, the BMC judge on Monday found an ICE agent in contempt after not showing up to court, and Martell-Lebron’s case was dismissed with prejudice “due to egregious and intentional prosecutorial misconduct” following ICE’s arrest.
Martell-Lebron years ago faced drug charges in both Middlesex and Essex counties, according to reports.
He was found guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on two counts of cocaine trafficking and one count of heroin trafficking in 2009, and he was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Meanwhile in Essex County, Martell-Lebron pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine trafficking and one count of heroin trafficking in 2009. That five-year sentence was to be served concurrently with the Middlesex sentence.
Then in 2017, those Essex County charges were vacated and dismissed with prejudice due to the Annie Dookhan drug lab scandal.
Between 2003 and 2011, chemist Annie Dookhan engaged in serious misconduct at a state drug lab that jeopardized the integrity of more than 20,000 cases in eastern Massachusetts.
Because of Dookhan’s misconduct at the Hinton State Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice of thousands of drug cases. Martell-Lebron’s charges in Essex County were among those tossed cases.
“The Court’s finding(s) or judgment(s) on charge(s) 1 COCAINE, TRAFFICKING IN c94C 32E(b), 2 HEROIN/MORPHINE/OPIUM, TRAFFICKING IN c94C 32E(c), 3 DRUG, POSSESS CLASS C c94C 34, 4 DRUG, POSSESS CLASS D c94C 34 is/are vacated and these charges are ordered DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, per order of the Supreme Judicial Court (Gaziano, J.),” reads the court record.
Back to Monday, the Suffolk DA’s office said it was “dismayed and surprised when our prosecution of Wilson Martell-Lebron was interrupted by ICE apprehending him in the middle of our case.”
“As soon as we were made aware of the detention we contacted ICE and requested his return to court,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said in a statement, adding, “Any claim that we were aware of an attempt to prevent Mr. Martell-Lebron from exercising his right to a trial is false… Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”
Special Agent Brian Sullivan was found to be in contempt, but he was not held in contempt because he didn’t appear in court on Monday.
“He sought relief from the United States Attorney’s Office to prevent his appearance to answer for why he disappeared Wilson Martell-Lebron in the middle of his trial,” attorney Ryan Sullivan, who is on the defendant’s legal team, said in a statement.
“As for what we are calling on ICE to do, we are calling on them to respect the process of the law afforded to all individuals inside of the United States, regardless of their immigration status,” he added. “We are calling on them to not seek to uproot and ignore the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights to have a fair trial, or the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States constitution, guaranteeing due process. We can think of no greater failure of the rule of law than the government conspiring to kidnap a person in the middle of their trial seeking to demonstrate their innocence.”
Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden on Tuesday will hold a press conference on the ICE detention of Martell-Lebron.
This ICE arrest comes after Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk was grabbed off the street by ICE agents and shipped to a Louisiana facility. Ozturk, a PhD student and Fulbright Scholar from Turkey who was here on a student visa, was taken into custody by federal agents on the sidewalk outside her off-campus apartment in Somerville.
Ozturk in a past op-ed criticized the university’s administration after the Tufts Senate passed resolutions about the “Palestinian genocide” and divesting from companies with ties to Israel. The Department of Homeland Security said she was arrested because of her alleged “support of Hamas,” but has not provided further information.
Two Plymouth, Massachusetts teens were saved from the summit of Mount Washington after a leg injury stranded them.
Khang Nguyen,17, said he and his friend, 18-year-old Vaughn Webb, thought they were well prepared for their hike on Saturday. They brought trekking poles, layers, microspikes for their boots and more.
But halfway up the trail, Nguyen feared the worst when his leg began to hurt.
“It was just incredibly painful to lift up my right leg,” he explained. “I told [Vaughn] to leave me behind so I could go on my own pace and for him to reach the summit to get help at first.”
The pair managed to reach the top of the mountain but had to seek shelter next to a building as wind gusts increased, and the air temperature reached 38 degrees. Nguyen said they also ran out of food and water. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department received the 911 call around 7:30 p.m. and quickly alerted a State Park employee who began to search for the two teens.
“Conservation Officers then began responding in four-wheel-drive pickup trucks to try and get to the summit and back ahead of incoming snow,” the game department said in a statement.
After around 30 minutes of reaching both Webb and Nguyen were found. They were taken inside a building and Nguyen was being treated for his injury.
“The worker that was up there, [said] that they came in record time, and we appreciate their help a lot. It saved our lives potentially,” Nguyen explained.
The pair was successfully taken off the mountain by 10 p.m. The two teens are now safely back in Massachusetts and are incredibly grateful to their rescuers.
As libraries across western Massachusetts celebrate National Library Week from April 19 to April 25, they are honoring “the last real third space where everyone is welcome,” in the words of Greenfield Public Library Assistant Director Lisa Prolman.
According to the American Library Association, National Library Week is “an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.” This year, several libraries in the region will be hosting events to highlight the roles they play in their communities.
The Athol Public Library is among the venues engaging in National Library Week festivities, with a whole host of events starting on Tuesday, April 21, with Silly Goose Story Time at 10:30 a.m. The library will hold multiple events each day, including “Free Book Friday” on April 24, which Assistant Director Robin Shtulman said is “really fantastic.”
Shtulman said the week celebrates and emphasizes the “freedom to read, community outreach and celebrating the staff, without whom nothing would happen.”
The Athol Public Library said in an event announcement that “whatever brings you joy, the library has something for everyone,” and that aspect is being emphasized this National Library Week. To name a few of the events on tap, on Tuesday, April 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., there’s a volunteer opportunity where teens will make greeting cards for senior citizens; “A Minecraft Movie” will be shown at the same date and time; and on Thursday, April 23, the library will host Scavenger Hunt Bingo for all ages. For a full list of events at the Athol Public Library, visit atholpubliclibrary.com.
In Shelburne Falls, the Arms Library will feature a gallery from the Carlos Heiligmann Collection, a series of photos of public libraries across western Massachusetts. Also in collaboration with the Arms Library, Pothole Pictures and the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club will partner for a screening of “Free For All: The Public Library” on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. at the Shelburne Falls Theater at Memorial Hall.
The documentary focuses on the evolution of the public library from its origins in the 19th century and the challenges it faces today, with modern-day issues such as book bans, funding cuts and debates over censorship.
It also explores the role that women’s clubs, like the one in Shelburne Falls, played in creating the modern library system. To serve their communities, women’s clubs took the lead in fundraising, collecting books and advocating for library legislation.
“Our women’s club in this town started with a group of 60 women who were gathering for lessons. … Because of the support of women in the U.S., we established over 80% of the public libraries [in the country],” said Christin Couture, program chair for the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club. “This film … I hear it’s so fascinating.”
Following the film’s screening, there will be a panel of local librarians who will engage in “lively conversation” about the history and future of public libraries. Tickets are $6, though school-age children will be admitted for free.
In Charlemont, Tyler Memorial Library will host an open house on Saturday, April 25, from noon to 2 p.m. featuring refreshments, a tour of the library and sun catcher crafting.
The Greenfield Public Library, meanwhile, is taking National Library Week in a bit of a different direction, as it is offering a book repair demonstration with Tom Hutcheson on Thursday, April 23, at 3:30 p.m. The day marks William Shakespeare’s birthday.
Although the book repair session required registration and is currently full, those who are interested may be placed on a waiting list at greenfieldpl.libcal.com/event/16460179.
Greenfield Public Library Director Anna Bognolo recognized the hard work that everyone has put into making the library a success, offering a “huge thank you” to the volunteers and staff who make its varied offerings possible.
“Stop by and support your library,” Bognolo said.
“Libraries, especially in this economy, are more important than ever,” Prolman said. Referencing the library’s role as a place where community members can go that is not work or home, she added, “They are the last real third space where everyone is welcome, and we don’t charge you for being here.”
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