3 found shot to death in home when suspect is killed by officers, MO cops say
ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, alerted police to the St. Louis home in the early hours of May 9 to find a man shot to death on the front porch, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release.
Officers surrounded the home around 4 a.m. as they waited hours to get a search warrant, police said.
Around 7 a.m., the 61-year-old suspect came out of the home and spoke with officers, police said.
He went back inside and returned with a rifle moments later, according to police. Gunfire between the man and two officers broke out and the man retreated back into the home, police said.
A SWAT team entered the residence and found the man dead near the entryway with three firearms near him, authorities said. Police Chief Robert Tracy said one of the guns was found underneath the suspect's body, according to a news conference shared by KTVI.
A woman believed to be in her 30s or 40s was found dead in the living room and another man was found shot to death in the basement, Tracy said. The man found shot on the front porch, believed to be between the ages of 45 to 55, was also pronounced dead at the scene.
Tracy said officials are working to officially identify the suspect and the three victims before releasing their names. He said the police department believes the shooter is a 61-year-old man with a previous felony conviction.
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Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney
BOSTON (AP) — More than 120 cases, including some for assault on family members and police, were dismissed Tuesday in Boston, the latest fallout from a monthslong dispute over pay that has led public defenders to stop taking new clients. 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. Most were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations. But several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence. One suspect allegedly punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and slapped her in the face. Another case involved a woman who was allegedly assaulted by the father of her child, who threatened to kill her and tried to strangle her. A third case involved a suspect who allegedly hit a police officer and threated to shoot him. The judge, repeatedly invoking the Lavallee protocol, dismissed almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a good-faith effort to find the defendants an attorney. No defendants were in court to hear their cases being dismissed. 'This case will be dismissed without prejudice,' Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived. Frustration from prosecutors over dropped cases Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious being dismissed. 'The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety,' James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said in a statement. They vowed to re-prosecute all the cases. 'Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are working extremely hard to keep victims and other impacted persons updated on what's happening with their cases,' he continued. 'These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat.' Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, speaking to reporters in Fall River, said the situation needed to be resolved. 'This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue as people need representation,' she said. 'I know the parties are talking. They have got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court ... and certainly they need to be paid fairly.' Dispute revolves around pay Public defenders, who argue they are the lowest paid in New England, launched a work stoppage at the end of May in hopes of pressuring the legislature to increase their hourly pay. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed early this month by Healey didn't include any increase. 'The dismissal of cases today under the Lavallee protocols is what needs to be done for those individuals charged with crimes but with no lawyer to vindicate their constitution rights,' said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'It is, however, not a solution to the deep crisis of inadequate pay for bar advocates. Until there are enough qualified lawyers in courts to fulfill the constitutional obligation of the right to counsel this crisis will only intensify.' The pay of public defenders is a national issue Massachusetts is the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system. In New York City, legal aid attorneys are demanding better pay and working conditions. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a two-year state budget into law that increases the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most affected by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. 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Associated Press
3 days ago
- Associated Press
Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney
BOSTON (AP) — More than 120 cases, including some for assault on family members and police, were dismissed Tuesday in Boston, the latest fallout from a monthslong dispute over pay that has led public defenders to stop taking new clients. 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. Most were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations. But several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence. One suspect allegedly punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and slapped her in the face. Another case involved a woman who was allegedly assaulted by the father of her child, who threatened to kill her and tried to strangle her. A third case involved a suspect who allegedly hit a police officer and threated to shoot him. The judge, repeatedly invoking the Lavallee protocol, dismissed almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a good-faith effort to find the defendants an attorney. No defendants were in court to hear their cases being dismissed. 'This case will be dismissed without prejudice,' Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived. Frustration from prosecutors over dropped cases Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious being dismissed. 'The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety,' James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said in a statement. They vowed to re-prosecute all the cases. 'Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are working extremely hard to keep victims and other impacted persons updated on what's happening with their cases,' he continued. 'These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat.' Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, speaking to reporters in Fall River, said the situation needed to be resolved. 'This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue as people need representation,' she said. 'I know the parties are talking. They have got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court ... and certainly they need to be paid fairly.' Dispute revolves around pay Public defenders, who argue they are the lowest paid in New England, launched a work stoppage at the end of May in hopes of pressuring the legislature to increase their hourly pay. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed early this month by Healey didn't include any increase. 'The dismissal of cases today under the Lavallee protocols is what needs to be done for those individuals charged with crimes but with no lawyer to vindicate their constitution rights,' said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'It is, however, not a solution to the deep crisis of inadequate pay for bar advocates. Until there are enough qualified lawyers in courts to fulfill the constitutional obligation of the right to counsel this crisis will only intensify.' The pay of public defenders is a national issue Massachusetts is the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system. In New York City, legal aid attorneys are demanding better pay and working conditions. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a two-year state budget into law that increases the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most affected by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney
BOSTON (AP) — More than 120 cases, including some for assault on family members and police, were dismissed Tuesday in Boston, the latest fallout from a monthslong dispute over pay that has led public defenders to stop taking new clients. 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. But several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence. One suspect allegedly punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and slapped her in the face. Another case involved a woman who was allegedly assaulted by the father of her child, who threatened to kill her and tried to strangle her. A third case involved a suspect who allegedly hit a police officer and threated to shoot him. The judge, repeatedly invoking the Lavallee protocol, dismissed almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a good-faith effort to find the defendants an attorney. No defendants were in court to hear their cases being dismissed. 'This case will be dismissed without prejudice,' Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived. Frustration from prosecutors over dropped cases Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious being dismissed. 'The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety,' James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said in a statement. They vowed to re-prosecute all the cases. "Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are working extremely hard to keep victims and other impacted persons updated on what's happening with their cases," he continued. 'These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat.' The district attorney's office plans to re-prosecute all of the dismissed cases. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, speaking to reporters in Fall River, said the situation needed to be resolved. 'This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue as people need representation," she said. 'I know the parties are talking. They have got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court ... and certainly they need to be paid fairly.' Dispute revolves around pay Public defenders, who argue they are the lowest paid in New England, launched a work stoppage at the end of May in hopes of pressuring the legislature to increase their hourly pay. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed early this month by Healey didn't include any increase. 'The dismissal of cases today under the Lavallee protocols is what needs to be done for those individuals charged with crimes but with no lawyer to vindicate their constitution rights," said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It is, however, not a solution to the deep crisis of inadequate pay for bar advocates. Until there are enough qualified lawyers in courts to fulfill the constitutional obligation of the right to counsel this crisis will only intensify." The pay of public defenders is a national issue Massachusetts is the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system. In Wisconsin, a two-year state budget signed into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would increase the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most affected by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases.
