
Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney
At a mostly empty courtroom, Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case. It requires cases be dropped if a defendant hasn't had an attorney for 45 days and released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days. Tuesday was the first time it was invoked to drop cases, while suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks.

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Winnipeg Free Press
7 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Jannik Sinner rehires the fitness coach he fired for playing a role in his doping case
ROME (AP) — Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner has rehired Umberto Ferrara as his fitness coach nearly a year after firing him for his role in the top-ranked player's doping case. The move comes after Sinner recently removed fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio from his team. 'Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level,' a statement from Sinner's team said Wednesday. Last year, Sinner tested positive twice for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March; the case wasn't made public until August, shortly before the U.S. Open, which he ended up winning for the second of his four Grand Slam titles. He initially was completely cleared, based on the defense that he accidentally was exposed to the banned substance, Clostebol, via a massage from his then-physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi. Sinner said his fitness trainer at the time, Ferrara, purchased a product in Italy and gave it to Naldi for a cut on Naldi's finger. Naldi then treated Sinner while not wearing gloves. Sinner then fired Naldi and Ferrara, and Ferrara was hired briefly by Matteo Berrettini, another Italian player. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the exoneration, and Sinner agreed to serve a three-month ban that ended right before the Italian Open in May of this year. Sinner, who won Wimbledon this month, will return to action at the Cincinnati Open next month as he prepares to defend his U.S. Open title. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP tennis:


Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Doctor who supplied Matthew Perry ketamine and called him a ‘moron' is set to enter guilty plea
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor charged with giving Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks leading up to the 'Friends' star's overdose death is expected to plead guilty Wednesday. Dr. Salvador Plasencia would be the fourth of five people charged in connection with Perry's death to plead guilty. Plasencia was to have gone on trial in August until the doctor agreed last month to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, according to the signed document filed in federal court in Los Angeles. He had previously pleaded not guilty, but in exchange for the guilty pleas prosecutors have agreed to drop three additional counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of falsifying records. Plasencia's attorneys emphasized in an email after he reached his agreement that he 'was not treating Matthew Perry at the time of his death and the ketamine that caused Mr. Perry's death was not provided by Dr. Plasencia.' The remaining charges can carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and there is no guarantee he'll get less, but he's likely to. Plasencia has been free on bond since shortly after his arrest in August. He will not be sentenced until a future hearing. The only remaining defendant who has not reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office is Jasveen Sangha, who prosecutors allege is a drug dealer known as the 'Ketamine Queen' and sold Perry the lethal dose. Her trial is scheduled to begin next month. She has pleaded not guilty. According to prosecutors and co-defendants who reached their own deals, Plasencia illegally supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine starting about a month before his death on Oct. 28, 2023. According to a co-defendant, Plasencia in a text message called the actor a 'moron' who could be exploited for money. Perry's personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor all agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation as the government sought to make their case against larger targets, Plasencia and Sangha. None have been sentenced yet. Perry was found dead by the assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression, which has become increasingly common. Perry, 54, began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. Plasencia admitted in his plea agreement that another patient connected him with Perry, and that starting about a month before Perry's death, he illegally supplied the actor with 20 vials of ketamine totaling 100 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes. He admitted to enlisting another doctor, Mark Chavez, to supply the drug for him, according to the court filings. 'I wonder how much this moron will pay,' Plasencia texted Chavez, according to Chavez's plea agreement. After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry's 'go-to,' prosecutors said. Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on 'Friends,' when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC's megahit.


Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Families of the Idaho students Bryan Kohberger stabbed to death are set to see him sentenced
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge is expected to order Bryan Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole this week for the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students nearly three years ago. Wednesday's sentencing hearing will give the families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves the opportunity to describe the anguish they've felt since their loved ones were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was a graduate student at Washington State University when he broke into a nearby rental home through a kitchen sliding door and killed the four friends who appeared to have no connection with him. Police initially had no suspects, and the killings terrified the normally quiet community in the small, western Idaho city of Moscow. Some students at both universities left mid-semester, taking the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe. But investigators had a few critical clues. A knife sheath left near Mogen's body had a single source of male DNA on the button snap, and surveillance videos showed a white Hyundai Elantra near the rental home around the time of the murders. Police used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect, and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. Online shopping records showed Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier, along with a sheath like the one at the home. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania about six weeks after the killings. He initially stood silent when asked to enter a plea, so a judge entered a 'not guilty' plea on his behalf. Both the investigation and the court case drew widespread attention. Discussion groups proliferated online, members eagerly sharing their theories and questions about the case. Some self-styled armchair web-sleuths pointed fingers at innocent people simply because they knew the victims or lived in the same town. Misinformation spread, piling additional distress on the already-traumatized community. As the criminal case unfolded, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson announced that he would seek the death penalty if Kohberger was convicted. The court-defense team, led by attorney Anne Taylor, challenged the validity of the DNA evidence, unsuccessfully pushed to get theories about possible 'alternate perpetrators' admitted in court, and repeatedly asked the judge to take the death penalty off of the table. But those efforts largely failed, and the evidence against Kohberger was strong. With an August trial looming, Kohberger reached a plea deal. Prosecutors agreed to drop their efforts to get a death sentence in exchange for Kohberger's guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Both sides agreed to a proposed sentence of four consecutive life sentences without parole, plus an additional 10 years for the burglary charge. Kohberger also waived his right to appeal any issues in the case.