November 15, 2011

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 1:41 pm

The client, an 18 year old High School student, was initially arrested on domestic violence charges involving his girlfriend with whom he lived, hired Attorney Topazio to represent him. Prior to the next scheduled court date, the client got into another altercation with his girlfriend after which she applied for a restraining order. Attorney Topazio immediately obtained a witness statement indicating that the girlfriend was the aggressor and shared this information with investigating police. So as to prevent a warrant from being issued by police against his client, Attorney Topazio negotiated a situation whereby he allowed his client to provide a statement to police and to accept service to the temporary restraining order, in exchange for the police agreeing not to issue warrant for the client’s arrest but rather agreeing to issue summons to both parties as mutual combatants. After this event, the girlfriend alleged yet again that there was a third incident between the parties wherein she alleged that the client violated the restraining order by trying to strangle her the day before his scheduled court appearance, and as a result the client was arrested on attempted murder charges. In preparation of the bail argument, Attorney Topazio obtained cell phone records between the parties suggesting no attack occurred and that the girlfriend was making false allegations. Attorney Topazio also presented alibi witnesses at his client’s arraignment which called into question the veracity of the girlfriend’s allegations that she was attacked. Despite the Commonwealth’s request to revoke his client’s bail and to hold him on $50,000.00 bail on the Attempted Murder case, Attorney Topazio was successful in getting the Court to deny the Commonwealth’s Motion to Revoke Bail and further to get his client released from custody on the condition of electronic monitoring through the Massachusetts Probation Electronic Monitoring Program, and the Court agreed.