Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A Framingham, Massachusetts domestic assault and battery charge was brought against Denis Deleon, based on allegations that he committed an aggravated assault and battery against his girlfriend. The defendant was charged with an aggravated assault and battery because it was alleged that his girlfriend was pregnant. It was alleged that the defendant put a knife to the victim's stomach and threatened to cut her and her unborn child, according to the news report in the MetroWest Daily News, by Norman Miller.

Deleon was initially held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. The Court held a dangerousness hearing and found that the defendant was not a danger and released him on his promise to reappear in court. A dangerousness hearing is a hearing held to determine whether a defendant should be held without bail. Click here to read the dangerousness statute, Chapter 276 Section 58A.

As a Framingham criminal lawyer, one benefit of a dangerousness hearing is that the Commonwealth has to present live testimony in support of the request. In this case, the hearing demonstrated that the Commonwealth had a weak case of domestic assault against the defendant.

At the hearing, the alleged victim did not testify and the police could not be sure what caused the red mark on the victim's stomach and no fingerprint evidence was conducted to determine if the defendant held the knife. The judge denied the dangerousness request as this is a high standard requiring that the Commonwealth demonstrate that no condition of release can reasonably assure the safety of the victim or the community.