Case Results » Malicious Destruction of Property

Our client is a tattoo artist who owns a very well known tattoo parlor. His work is renowned. In March of this year he and some competitors were engaged in a "competition" that involved tagging public and private properties throughout Massachusetts as a way of displaying talents. The tagging was very destructive and the defendant and his competitors were caught on city pole cameras and identified. Our client was charged with two counts of vandalism under G.L. c. 266 section 126A. These are felonies carrying a three year state prison sentence. Attorney Neyman was hired. Today, we were able to get the case continued without a finding (CWOF). After a short probationary period the case will be dismissed. 

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Several months ago our client, a young woman, learned that her boyfriend had been in a relationship with another woman while they were dating. She was shocked and hurt. Consequently, our client keyed the boyfriend's car and etched in some aggressive profanity. Officers confirmed that she had done this with security video footage. Our client also confessed to having done this. She was charged with vandalism under G.L. c. 266 section 126A. This is a felony in Massachusetts. A conviction of this offense, or even a continuance without a finding can result in a loss of license. Attorney Neyman was able to get the woman pre-arraignment diversion under G.L. c. 276A. Recently, the woman wanted to move and have the diversion terminated early. We were able to do that earlier today. 

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In March of 2023 police responded to a call from a man wielding a weapon. Upon arrival they learned that the man, a CEO of a major health care organization, struck the window of a parked car with a hammer and threatened its sole occupant with harm. The victim saw the man enter a home. The police entered and encountered the man. It quickly became clear that the man was having a mental health issue. He was transported to a local hospital and later charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon in violation of G.L. c. 265 section 15B and malicious destruction to property over $1,200 under G.L. c. 266 section 127. Both are felonies under Massachusetts law. Today, Attorney Neyman convinced the district attorney's office to agree to pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 section 87. All charges will be dismissed in a few months. 

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Our client is an accountant with an MBA from a top 10 business school. Following a bad breakup, our client went to the home of her former boyfriend's new partner and proceeded to key the car and spray paint it with profanity. She admitted to the crime and was charged with malicious destruction to property over $1,200 and vandalism in violation of G.L. c. 266 section 126A. Over the objection of the district attorney's office, we convinced the judge to impose pre-arraignment diversion. Once our client pays full restitution for the damage she caused the case will be dismissed. She will not have a PCF number. 

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The defendant is a local contractor who builds high end homes. In August of 2021, in the early morning hours he entered a hotel where he had a reservation. Due to the hour, the desk attendant refused to honor the reservation. The man became upset and started breaking objects in the hotel lobby. He left the property and was summonsed for a charge of malicious destruction of property in violation of G.L. c. 266 section 127. We were able to get him pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 section 87. All charges will be dismissed.

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Our client is a well decorated war veteran. Over a year ago, after a dispute with a co-worker our client was accused of spray painting his car. The damage was extensive. The charges against our client were malicious destruction to a motor vehicle which is a violation of G.L. c. 266 section 28a. That is a felony in Massachusetts, a conviction for which would leave our client unemployable. Additionally, these charges cannot be continued without a finding. A finding of guilty would also result in an indefinite loss of license. Today, we prevailed on the court to dismiss all charges prior to arraignment on the condition that our client pay restitution in full. The case is dismissed. 

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Our client is a college professor at a well known top ranked university. In April of this year he was involved in a road rage incident on a busy suburban street. The cars came to a stop at a traffic light. Our client got out of his car and struck the window of the victim's car and threatened to kill both of them. The victims provided our client's vehicle information to the police. An identification was made and our client was summoned to court for a clerk magistrate hearing. The police were applying for complaints for malicious destruction to property over $1,200 under G.L. c. 266 section 127 and two counts of assault under G.L. c. 265 section 13A. Today, at a clerk's hearing we convinced the clerk magistrate not to issue a complaint. 

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Our client is a restaurant worker living in the North Shore of Massachusetts. In April of this year the woman was driving in a residential neighborhood at a high rate of speed. She was observed weaving back and forth over the marked lane lines. She lost control of her vehicle and struck two parked cars and a single family home. The damage was significant. The woman was charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle in violation of G.L. c. 90 section 24. She was also charged with two counts of malicious destruction to property in violation of G.L. c. 266 section 127. One of the counts charged over $1,200 making that crime a felony. There was also a charge of having an open container of alcohol under G.L. c. 90 section 24. Attorney Neyman was hired. In just over a month he was able to get these charges dismissed. 

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The defendant was charged with malicious destruction of property under G.L. c. 266 section 127. Attorney Neyman was able to get the client pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 section 87 however the district attorney's office pressed the issue of restitution and a hearing was scheduled. Due to court closings for the past several months the case was routinely continued. Today our office was able to demonstrate that our client owed no money. The court agreed and the order of restitution was vacated. The case was dismissed and our client owes nothing. 

This case was determined telephonically due to the courts being closed

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The defendant was involved in a felony malicious destruction of property, G.L. c. 266 Section 127 that occurred over two years ago. He had a lawyer from another office that scheduled a change of plea and a restitution hearing. The man continued to protest his innocence. Nevertheless the lawyer insisted that he admit responsibility, get a continuance without a finding and have a hearing to determine restitution. The defendant was unhappy with this advice and hired our office to represent him. We convinced the assistant district attorney to proceed with restitution first. He agreed. As we expected, the judge found that our client did nothing wrong and agreed that no money was due. The judge further agreed to dismiss the case as he could not see any wrongdoing on our client's part. This was handled telephonically due to the coronavirus emergency. All charges were dismissed. 

This case was determined telephonically due to the courts being closed

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In July of 2019 an individual and his wife were on their boat in a marina sleeping. In the early morning hours they heard a noise. The man left the cabin to investigate and saw four men on his boat. It is alleged that these individuals broke into the marina and boarded this boat and others with the intention of stealing fishing gear and valuable personal items. A neighboring boat owner heard the commotion and saw the four men flee the boat and enter a car. He was able to get the license plate of the vehicle which led the police to our client. Our client admitted to being on the boat with the intention to commit larceny. He was ultimately charged with two counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony in violation of G.L. c. 266 section 16, larceny over $1,200, G.L. c. 266 section 30 and malicious destruction to property over $1,200, G.L. c. 266 section 127, all felonies in Massachusetts. Attorney Stephen Neyman was retained to represent the man. Today, all charges were continued without a finding (CWOF). After successful completion of probation all charges will be dismissed. 

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Our client is an engineer and operations manager at an aviation manufacturing facility in Massachusetts. A few months ago he and his girlfriend began arguing over suspected infidelity. The girlfriend had been drinking and as the argument progressed she became enraged. She began striking our client, throwing household objects at him and screaming at him loud enough to cause neighbors to their home alarm. The police were called and the woman claimed that our client had struck her and caused the damage to the household items. The police arrested our client and charges were filed against him. He hired Attorney Neyman to represent him. We were able to get the arraignment continued long enough to conduct our own investigation of the incident. Through witnesses and videotape evidence we were able to demonstrate that our client was not responsible for that at all and that the girlfriend had fabricated the charges of domestic assault and battery under G.L. c. 265 Section 13M and malicious destruction to property under G.L. c. 266 Section 127. In fact, she had committed these offenses. Accordingly, we succeeded in getting all charges dismissed prior to arraignment.

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The defendant is a lifelong resident of a rural Boston town. On June 1, 2019 she and her boyfriend got into an argument. She called the police. They arrived and met with the boyfriend who claimed that she had during an argument our client had thrown out and destroyed his clothes. That he later left the home to find his car had been vandalized and broken into and that many of his personal items had been stolen. The officers arrested the woman and issued her a summons for a clerk magistrate hearing charging vandalism under G.L. c. 266 Section 126A, larceny over $1,200 in violation of G.L. c. 266 Section 30 and breaking and entering with the intent to commit a felony under G.L. c. 266 Section 16. All of these are felonies in Massachusetts. Today, at the clerk magistrate hearing Attorney Stephen Neyman was able to persuade the clerk magistrate not to issue a complaint. 

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Of February 22, 2019 the defendant, a freshman at a local university was at a party highly intoxicated at an off campus party. He became separated from his friends and started to walk back to campus. He lost his cell phone and could not call an Uber. He went up to a home and grabbed the door handle trying to get into the home. The homeowner called the police. Officers arrived and confronted the defendant. He struck one of the officers and was wrestled to the ground. He was charged with malicious destruction to property G.L. c. 266 Section 127, assault and battery on a police officer G.L. c. 265 Section 13D, resisting arrest G.L. c. 268 Section 32B and disturbing the peace G.L. c. 272 Section 53. Attorney Neyman was hired to represent the defendant. Through negotiations with the prosecutor and an excellent, caring probation officer our client was able to enter into a restorative justice program. All charges will be dismissed via pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 Section 87 after the completion of the program.

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The defendant lives in Southeastern Massachusetts. In April of 2018 police were called to his ex-girlfriend's house. She was crying and told the officers that the defendant had entered her home stole several thousand dollars cash from her home, destroyed expensive appliances and wrote obscenities in lipstick on her walls. The police arrested the defendant and charged him with larceny over $1,200 and malicious destruction to property over $1,200. Both of these crimes are felonies in violation of G.L. c. 266 Section 30 and G.L. c. 266 Section 127 respectively. Several motions hearings and pretrial hearings were conducted at which we were able to require the prosecution to provide additional evidence. Those hearings resulted in an inability of the district attorney to prove our client's guilty and ultimately forced a dismissal of the case. All charges were dismissed.

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The defendant is a partner in a large accounting firm. He lives in a very exclusive neighborhood in one of Boston's most lavish suburbs. On September 23, 2018 one of the defendant's neighbors saw him "keying" his car. The vehicle had been keyed on several other occasions, each time following a dispute between the neighbors. The victim never saw our client actually commit the act until this date. Not only did he personally witness it but he had installed surveillance equipment to identify the person. The police were called. They watched the video and listened to the victim's recitation of the events. Accordingly, they charged our client with violating G.L. c. 265 Section 28 malicious destruction to a motor vehicle. This is a felony in Massachusetts. A conviction or even a continuance without a finding would cost our client his job. Today, Attorney Neyman was able to get the charges reduced to a misdemeanor and resolved by way of pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 Section 87. Our client will have no record and the case will be dismissed.

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The defendant is a partner in a major downtown Boston financial institution. In August of 2018 he was riding his moped on a busy street in a south shore town. A large SUV being operated by a young woman approached him at a distance he felt was very close. Angered, the man smashed the side mirror of the SUV causing damage. He was given a summons for a clerk magistrate hearing charging him with malicious destruction to a motor vehicle under G.L. c. 266 Section 28. This is a felony in Massachusetts. The man was also charged with violating G.L. c. 90 Section 24, negligent operation of a motor vehicle. He hired our office to defend him. Today, after a clerk magistrate the complaint did not issue.

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In June of 2018 police in a western Massachusetts city responded to a call for a report of vandalism. Upon arrival they spoke with the supervisor of a large apartment complex who had observed significant damage to artwork and furniture in a common area of the building. While investigating the officers observed cars parked below the building that had sustained damage as a result of objects being thrown out of the window and striking the vehicles. Blood droplets led the police to the defendant who resided in the apartment. Officers quickly learned that the defendant had committed the damage and was injured in the process of doing so. He was located at a local hospital where was interviewed. He confessed to the crimes. He was charged with two counts of felony vandalism under G.L. c. 266 Section 126A. Attorney Stephen Neyman was hired. On two occasions the arraignment was continued so that our office could work towards an accord and satisfaction under G.L. c. 276 Section 55. After succeeding in doing so we convinced the district attorney's office to reduce the charges to misdemeanors and agree to dismiss all counts prior to arraignment. The defendant will have no entries on his CORI.

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The defendant is a high-ranking executive at a well-known tech firm in the greater Boston area. On January 10, 2018 he was crossing the street at a crosswalk and was involved in an incident where he was almost struck by a car. After an exchange of words the defendant then kicked the front passenger side of the person's car. The vehicle sustained damage and the police were called to investigate. The defendant was summonsed for a clerk magistrate hearing for a charge of malicious destruction to property, a felony under G.L. c. 266 Section 127. Attorney Neyman was hired. Prior to the hearing Attorney Neyman, with the assistance of a very compassionate detective and the victim was able to work this case out and avoid court. No complaint issued.

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The defendants are freshmen at a local college in Boston. On September 9, 2017 they were observed standing on the cap of the bed of a pickup truck having their picture taken by another individual. The campus police witnessed the incident and contacted the owner of the vehicle who subsequently reported damage to the cap in excess of $250. The students were charged with malicious destruction to property over $250 in violation of G.L. c. 266 Section 127, a felony in Massachusetts. A clerk magistrate hearing was ordered. Our office represented the defendants at the hearing and convinced the clerk magistrate not to issue the complaint in exchange for making immediate restitution. No complaint issued.

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In August of 2015 members of the North Andover, Massachusetts Police Department met with residents of an upscale neighborhood who complained about getting flat tires from roofing nails on their property. Investigators checked the area and found driveways and lawns saturated with these nails. A security videotape was located and on it the police saw a man taking objects from a bag and throwing them on the various lawns and driveways where the nails were found. Some of the victims positively identified the defendant as the person in video. He was charged with criminal harassment, G.L. c. 265 Section 43A and felony malicious destruction to property G.L. c. 266 Section 127. Today, Attorney Neyman was able to get the criminal harassment charges dismissed and the remaining charges were given pretrial probatin or continued without a finding.

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Shortly before Christmas 2015 the defendant was driving his car in a parking lot in a suburban Boston strip mall. He was stopped waiting for a car to back up so that he could take over that parking space. A car behind him beeped several times. The defendant took exception to this, got out of his car, and with his elbow broke the rear windshield of the victims automobile. The police were called to the scene. The defendant was charged with malicious destruction to property over $250, a felony in Massachusetts. Today, attorney Neyman was able to get a general continuance for the defendant. All charges will be dismissed out right in December. 

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In 2001, while attending college in Boston the defendant was charged with malicious destruction to property in violation of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266 Section 127. The case was continued without a finding for a year. The defendant successfully completed his probation. He received his college degree and eventually obtained a doctorate degree. The CWOF was accessible to certain perspective employers. Consequently the defendant was not hired for certain positions for which he was otherwise qualified and deemed desirable. He hired Attorney Stephen Neyman to get his record sealed. Within thirty days we were able to get the case sealed.

The defendant recently turned eighteen years old and graduated from high school. In May of this year he was observed tagging someone's personal property valued over two hundred fifty dollars. The person called the police who arrived and investigated the crime that was reported. They concluded that the young man had in fact committed this crime, a felony in Massachusetts. He was summonsed to court for an arraignment today. Attorney Neyman was hired to defend him and was successful in getting all charges dismissed prior to arraignment.

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The defendant is a financial analyst who lives out of state. On March 15, 2015 the man was visiting friends and staying in Somerville, Massachusetts. Around 1:15 in the morning police officers were dispatched to a residence where they encountered the defendant, apparently drunk and disoriented. Officers also met with the victim who related that she was asleep when she heard a very loud noise followed by the sound of breaking glass. Officers quickly learned that this man had damaged the door to the victim's house and broke windows at the same time. The man was arrested and charged with malicious destruction to property over $250, a felony in Massachusetts. He hired Attorney Stephen Neyman was was able to get him pretrial probation pursuant to G.L. c. 276 Section 87. All charges will be dismissed shortly.

On August 15, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. Boston, Massachusetts police responded to a call for a breaking and entering in a neighborhood adjacent to a major local university. They observed the defendant banging on a door and apparently under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The officers observed substantial damage to the dwelling including a broken front door. Witnesses at the scene identified the defendant as the person who broke the door and gained entry to the property. As the officers approached the suspect he fled. He was ultimately caught by one of the officers who claimed that he was struck several times by the defendant. The officer was taken to a local hospital and was out of work for a significant period of time. The suspect was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, breaking and entering in the nighttime, malicious destruction to property and other crimes. Many of the crimes are felonies in Massachusetts. Attorney Stephen Neyman was hired. Today our office was able to secure pretrial diversion for the defendant pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276A.

The Watertown, Massachusetts police were contact by a cab driver on September 1, 2013 for a complaint that a passenger had broken the rear passenger window of his cab. The driver further reported that he picked up the passenger and took him to his requested destination. Upon arrival the passenger complained that the fare was too high. The cab driver continued to request money. The passenger refused to pay his fare and angrily broke the rear passenger window of the cab. The police arrested the defendant and subsequently summonsed him for a clerk magistrate hearing. At that hearing Attorney Neyman was able to convince the clerk magistrate not to issue the criminal complaint. All charges were dismissed.

The prosecution alleged that on December 19, 2013 a business man visiting from California booked a private taxicab for a ride to a Boston suburb. Upon arriving at the designated location the man argued with the cab driver over the fee. Unable to negotiate a lower fee he proceeded to cause extensive damage to the vehicle. He was charged with malicious destruction to property over two hundred fifty dollars, a felony in Massachusetts. A Clerk's Hearing was scheduled. Attorney Neyman was retained prior to the hearing. He was able to negotiate a resolution with the victim and the police department. The case was dismissed before the Clerk's Hearing.

Waltham District Court: According to a detailed Weston, Massachusetts police report, on September 16, 2013 a motorist called the police after observing a woman walking in a troubled manner. The woman was barefoot, holding her right side and in severe pain. She had a bruised nose and a bloody lip. She reported that the defendant fought with her over a cell phone and computer during which he threw the items at her, hitting her, causing injury and damaging other property in the home. The defendant threatened to kill her if she called the police. The police interviewed the defendant who, in essence, gave the same story as the victim. Charges were brought. Today, Attorney Neyman was able to get pretrial probation for all charges. Everything will be dismissed upon the completion of unsupervised probation.

Lynn District Court: In July of 2000 members of the Saugus Police and other officers assigned to an Essex County Massachusetts Drug Task Force conducted an undercover drug investigation in North Shore clubs. There, with the assistance of a confidential informant the officers met up with the defendant, a suspected ecstasy dealer. Negotiations resulted in the purchase of a significant amount of this club drug by an undercover officer. The defendant was arrested and charged with distribution of drugs. Attorney Neyman secured pretrial probation for the man today. All charges will soon be dismissed. There will be no immigration consequences.

Boston Municipal Court: The defendant is an accountant at a major international accounting firm. He had criminal legal problems in the past of a felony nature that we succeeded in getting dismissed. This past March he and his girlfriend got into an argument on a busy city street. During the course of the argument the defendant broke a window to a car owned by someone not involved in this incident. The police arrived and charged with defendant with Malicious Destruction to Property Over $250, a felony in Massachusetts. Today, we succeeded in getting the charges dropped to a misdemeanor and continued without a finding. The client will have no criminal record if he complies with his probationary reporting requirements.