METHUEN (AP) - A New Hampshire man who police say raped women he trapped in his car by disabling the passenger door handle has been released from jail by a Massachusetts judge who ruled that police had no legal basis to stop his car and arrest him. Kenneth Poirier of Pelham, N.H. was accused of raping women on May 23 and Oct. 10, 2010 in Methuen. Police say he altered and possibly removed the handle on the passenger's side door, making it difficult to flee. The second alleged rape occurred just three days after Poirier was pulled over in Methuen and arrested. The Eagle-Tribune reports that the judge ruled Thursday that all observations, evidence seized and statements made by Poirier at the stop "must be suppressed." Poirier had been jailed while awaiting trial. Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/19302220/2012/08/17/mass-rape-suspect-freed-over-traffic-stop#ixzz23osFvZU6
Thats it?? Nothing else as to why the stop was bad and the double rape suspect will be set free to rape someones daughter, aunt, sister, or mother again? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the judge is a former defense attorney. I know, crazy assumption right?
I hope when Poirer's released, along with his personal belongings he somehow gets a slip of paper with the name and address of the judge that let him go...
Captain Dudley Smith: Would you be willing to plant corroborative evidence on a suspect you knew to be guilty, in order to ensure an indictment? Would you be willing to beat a confession out of a suspect you knew to be guilty? Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back, in order to offset the chance that some lawyer...
I'm lost on that one...wouldn't the judges address be better off with a male relative of the victim? Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
Eh.. it wouldn't be the daughter's fault daddy's a liberal criminal loving douche... I'd leave her out of it.
I wouldn't want either one of them to have any dealings with that turd. However, the judge will finally get a dope slap of reality...
They (Judges and Lawyers) treat this profession as though it was a football game. Bad stop..15 yards..first down and ten to go. It is retarded. Now this guy is free to go and hurt again. This is not a game. Never forget there is a huge difference between innocent and not guilty.
From the original article: I don't see why the stop was a problem. The officer saw a car in an area where there should be no cars at that time of night. Common sense would tell me that someone in the car is up to something illegal. Since common sense is lacking in most of the judges in this state, I guess the decision makes sense in his mind.
It is stupid, but I understand the basis. It comes down to articulation. Common right of inquiry does not allow for forcible detention, and a car stop has been ruled to be forcible detention. Had he been on foot and the officer engaged him in conversation he could of elevated the level of stop as it went foreward, but the subject would always have the abiltiy to leave until that threshold is reached. With a car stop the subject is not free to leave the moment the lights come on. Nonsense, but it is how they think. To have it be a trial issue, and not an appeal issue is plain stupid. As always articulation is key. Was he driving too slow for area, any burgs in area around time of stop? Did PO have knowledege of rapes in area occuring in a car? Any of those could have raised the level of the stop. Unfortunatley this is how perps go free and cops get jammed up.
He crossed the center line or fog line, his vehicle had lights of unequal brilliance, etc. etc. There is a whole smorgasbord of MV gigs out there ripe for the picking. If that fails.. You have a tail light out sir.....No I don't.....<smash> Yes,..you do.
A big lesson learned in this is to do what you can to have a m/v violation (and citation to prove it) to support a stop. Make the stop pre-text, rather than gamble your reasonable suspicion will be upheld at a motion. I learned this the hard way recently on a pretty damn good case.
Wouldn't the fact that he was in an industrial park at that time of night when all the businesses were closed been trespassing? Is that not sufficient enough to warrant a stop?
