News

Gloucester District Court


Published: July 3, 2008

A 74-year-old Gloucester man who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, assault with a dangerous weapon and witness intimidation, was sentenced to 17 months in jail and three years of probation by Judge Joseph Jennings in Gloucester District Court yesterday.

David Mitchell, of 17 Eastern Ave., Gloucester, was arrested March 31 after police were sent to Eastern Avenue to de-escalate a domestic dispute. They said Mitchell had thrown dinner plates at a woman there and prevented her from leaving or calling police.

The drug charges stemmed from Mitchell's arrest Oct. 31, 2007, when police executing a search warrant of his house found cocaine, marijuana, liquid methadone and prescription pills.

Charges against Mitchell of possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and drug violations near a school or park were dismissed.

r A 23-year-old Gloucester man was found responsible for driving without an inspection sticker and ordered to pay $200 in court costs.

William Thurman, of 2 Loring Court, Gloucester, had also been charged with driving without a license, driving without insurance and driving without a registration stemming from two traffic stops on Route 133 in Essex, including one where police said he placed a cigarette carton on his windshield to resemble an inspection sticker. The other charges were dismissed, with Thurman ordered to pay an additional $100 in court costs.

r A 23-year-old Lawrence man pleaded guilty yesterday to drunken driving. He received a six-month suspended sentence and a 90-day loss of license.

Steven Shawcross, of 108 Farnham St., Lawrence, was arrested Feb. 16 on John Wise Avenue in Essex when an officer on patrol said he found Shawcross' car parked awkwardly in the breakdown lane with the driver passed out.

r Charges were dropped Monday against three men involved in a bloody brawl between combatants from Peabody and Gloucester two weeks ago. The 2 a.m. fight had been so loud, it woke up residents throughout the neighborhood.

Charges against all three men were dismissed by Judge Joseph Jennings due to a lack of prosecution in Gloucester District Court.

Witnesses told police that the fight broke out at a party on Marshfield Street, sparked by an argument over one man making advances toward someone else's girlfriend. The fight quickly turned into a brawl divided by partygoers from the two different communities.

Witnesses described people picking up weapons around the house, including steak knives, chair legs and broken doors.

A victim was found lying in the street and a car window was smashed in the melee.

Police arrested two brothers at gunpoint, Dorjan Sulaj, 21, and Eraldo Sulaj, 18, both of 101 Central St., Peabody. They found the men covered in blood and suffering from cuts and scratches.

While at Addison Gilbert Hospital getting stitches, they bumped into another man receiving treatment in the emergency room, Jonathan Church, 20, of 14 Elizabeth Road, Gloucester. Church had a cut on his head which required multiple stitches and four staples, according to the police report.

The Sulaj brothers accused him of being the one who caused their injuries. Others accused the Sulaj brothers of being the attackers.

All three had been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and disturbing the peace. The Sulaj brothers were also charged with malicious destruction of property valued at more than $250; Dorjan Sulaj was additionally charged with a motor vehicle lights violation.

Before the cases had been dismissed, Church had requested that the proceedings be put off until next winter, because he is in the armed forces and is scheduled for deployment overseas sometime in the next week.

r Ignoring police orders to put down his can of beer during Fiesta cost a 20-year-old man $300 yesterday. Dana R. Callahan, 20, of 161 East Main St. No. 1, Gloucester, was ordered to pay that much in court costs and fees by Jennings Monday.

Charges of drinking in public and being a minor in possession of alcohol were dismissed, while a charge of resisting arrest was continued without a finding for three months, all contingent on Callahan paying the required fees.

Police say they saw him drinking a beer on Western Avenue around midnight on Sunday. The first time they asked him to put it down, he complied, but then he picked up the beer again when the officers began to walk away, according to the police report.

After that, Callahan allegedly ignored their orders to put down his beer. When they went to arrest him, they say he struggled with them.

Police ended up using pepper spray to subdue him.

r He didn't get in trouble in Essex, when police caught him urinating on a building.

But he did get in trouble in Gloucester, when he was caught fighting during Fiesta last weekend.

Andrew Ernest, 20, of 27 Warner St., Gloucester, told police he should have been arrested in Essex. When he was arrested in Gloucester, he was apologetic, according to the police report. He also appeared intoxicated, police noted.

Ernest was charged with disorderly conduct after his arrest on Saturday, when he was caught in a fight in the Pavilion Beach parking lot.

Yesterday, Jennings dismissed the charge, but ordered him to pay $200 in costs.

r A woman who was thrown out of the Old Timer's bar during Fiesta was also ordered to pay $200 costs in order to have charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest dismissed by the court.

Crystal L. Brown, 24, of 44 Patriots Circle, Gloucester, was arrested early Sunday morning when police saw her being thrown out of the bar. She was yelling and, according to police, "looking for a fight."

r A Salem man was ordered to pay $250 in fees and fines for picking a fight with another man during Fiesta on Saturday night.

Jason H. Shairs, 37, of 179 Boston St., Apt. 21, Salem, had been arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Yesterday, Jennings found him guilty and ordered him to pay a $200 fine and a $50 victim-witness assessment.

Police found Shairs yelling at a man who was trying to walk away from him, saying, "come on, let's go."

A friend of Shairs told police he'd take care of him, getting Shairs out of the area and avoiding a fight.

But then police saw Shairs run across the street, yelling at the man some more and pointing his finger at him. That time, Shairs was put into handcuffs.

r A woman caught driving 40 miles an hour in a 25 mile per hour zone, in the midst of Fiesta traffic, was told by Jennings yesterday to pay a $100 fine for speeding.

The judge found Johanna Fulford, 26, of 80 Prospect St. No. 6, Gloucester, responsible for speeding, while dismissing another charge of driving with a suspended license, provided she pays an additional $200 in costs.

Police heard the engine of her 1997 Buick sedan racing as it flew past on Washington Street a little after midnight Saturday. The car had to make a sudden stop as it encountered the Fiesta traffic, according to the police report.

When asked why she was in such a hurry, Fulford told police she just wanted to get home.

She was arrested after police discovered that her license was suspended.

r Charges stemming from a minor car crash on Sunday were dropped against the Beverly woman who owned one of the cars involved.

Michelle M. Leary, 37, of 101 Rantoul St., Beverly, was charged with allowing improper operation of her car, driving without insurance and driving an unregistered motor vehicle. Someone else had been driving her car when it was involved in a minor accident on Main Street in Gloucester at 10:40 p.m. Sunday.

The charges were dismissed by Jennings.

r A Connecticut man was ordered to pay a $500 fine for the half-empty, open vodka bottle found in the back seat of his car. That was on top of the fees and fines he must pay for the drunk driving charge against him.

Christopher J. Brown, 47, of 47B Melba St., Milford, Conn., was arrested by Gloucester police June 1, after his sister accused him of throwing her out of his car on Eastern Avenue. The pair had spent the day drinking together, the police report states.

That night, police received other reports of Brown driving erratically through town, honking his horn repeatedly at other drivers.

Brown failed a field sobriety test, with a breath test later measuring his blood alcohol level at .25, four times the legal limit of .08.

The charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol was continued without a finding for one year by Jennings. He was given a 45-day license suspension, and ordered to pay $250 to the Head Injury Fund, a $250 operating under the influence fee, a $50 operating under the influence victims assessment and a $50 victim-witness assessment.

Brown was found responsible for driving with an open container of alcohol.

r Another Connecticut man told police he didn't remember what happened when his car crashed in Rockport over the weekend.

Gregory Hayden, 33, of 36 Nells Rock Road, Shelton, Conn., was charged with drunk driving after the crash on South Street on Saturday. Yesterday, Jennings continued the charge without a finding, giving Hayden a 45-day license suspension and ordering him to pay $250 to the Head Injury Fund, a $250 operating under the influence fee, a $50 operating under the influence victims assessment and a $50 victim-witness assessment.

Police said it appeared that Hayden's Mazda hit a curb and spun around, ending up in the brush on the side of the road. Hayden said he couldn't remember what caused the crash.

A breath test later measured his blood alcohol level at .12, more than the legal limit of .08.