Framingham Criminal Complaint Denied
Criminal Charges:
Clerk-Magistrate’s Hearing regarding an application for criminal complaint for:
- Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle – M.G.L. c. 90, § 24(2)(a) (criminal charge)
- Failure to Stop – M.G.L. c. 89, § 9 (civil infraction)
City, State, County and Court:
Framingham, Massachusetts, Worcester County
Worcester District Court
Case Overview:
Police were dispatched to a gas station for the report of a woman causing a disturbance and refusing to leave. Upon arrival, police spoke to a group of students standing outside of the gas station, who stated the woman came up to them with her laptop, started to harass them, and refused to leave them alone. The woman, who was still on scene and sitting in her car, was approached by police and refused to roll down her window or open her door. When police tried to open her door, she switched the vehicle’s gear into drive, fled the scene, and drove over the sidewalk as she exited the gas station parking lot into heavy traffic almost causing an accident. Eventually, police stopped the vehicle. Once stopped, the woman continued to refuse to open the door, had to be guided out of the vehicle by police, and was unable to provide police with an explanation for her erratic behavior. In response, police filed an application for criminal complaint against the woman alleging Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle and Failing to Stop. The woman received a summons in the mail to appear for a Clerk-Magistrate’s Hearing in Worcester District Court. She retained Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to represent her at this hearing.
Case Result: Application for Criminal Complaint Denied.
Following the Clerk-Magistrate’s preliminary remarks, the recitation of the facts by the police prosecutor, consideration of a packet of materials submitted on the woman’s behalf, and oral argument from the Defense, the Clerk-Magistrate denied the application as the criminal charge, and ordered the woman to pay a $105.00 fine on the civil infraction.