Recent Cases

July 27, 2015
Shoplifting By Asportation By Recording False Value
Shoplifting By Asportation over 100
Client was a young adult and high-school senior with unlimited potential. According to police, he made a massive reduction in the cost of items via a friend who was working as a cashier. The police, professional and respectful, allowed this matter to be heard at a clerk-magistrate's hearing. Attorney Barabino prepared details and background of client and reached out to people involved. At the hearing, all parties were heard and the opportunity to pay back the money was sufficient to have no complaint issue. Clean record remains fully intact.
Result: PAYMENT OF RESTITUTION IN FULL, NO COMPLAINT ISSUED AGAINST CLIENT, CLEAN RECORD Remains Fully Intact.

July 16, 2015
Motion to Seal Record
Client was an all-around, pleasant, hard-working professional who had been charged with and admitted to several low-level misdemeanors. The events were nearly 25 years old but client wanted his record sealed. Attorney Barabino sought to have a petition to seal heard by the same court that indicted him. Attorney Barabino persuaded the judge to seal all records of this case. As a matter of law, client may now truthfully answer on any job application that he has never been arrested for, or charged with, any crime.
Result: PETITION TO SEAL ALLOWED

July 5, 2015
Drug, Possession to Distribute Class B
Drug, Possession to Distribute Class C
Drug, Possession to Distribute Class E
Drug, Possession to Distribute Class C
Client was a young engineer involved with drugs. While under the influence, a young lady friend came over to his home. She stayed at his home as a guest and tragically she passed away during the night as a result of a drug overdose. The defendant found her unresponsive and called police without hesitation. His attempts at first aid were valiant but unsuccessful. When police arrived at the home in response to the 911 calls, they noticed various drugs in plain view. Those drugs included Morphine, Methadone, Suboxone, Klonopin, Gabapentin, and Clonidine. There was enough in the view of police of each drug to charge distribution of the drugs. The police demonstrated a high level of expertise, professionalism, and sophistication. Their expertise was clear as they quickly noticed the necessity of applying for a search warrant for the drugs and conducting interviews and interrogations with proper rights administered. In the end, the case moved through the court for nearly two years. As the case was close to trial, the District Attorney reduced the Class “A” charge to simple possession. That developed an opening to file a motion to dismiss not only that charge but also the remaining charges under the more recent law protecting people against being charged for possession of drugs when they call for help for people experiencing an overdose. The motion was filed. A hearing date was set. The District Attorney stated his anticipated intent of dismissing the charges. On the day of the hearing, the case was dismissed in its entirety.
Result: Motion to Dismiss, FILED, CASES DISMISSED.

June 24, 2015
Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
Client made several mistakes nearly ten years prior. Those mistakes led him to be listed as a sex offender, with all the requirements of registration. He had several children and was a law-abiding person working many hours to maintain stability for his family. According to police, he made mistakes on his registration and was charged with failure to register as a sex offender. The investigation into the defendant was very sophisticated and intensive. The police tracked the defendant to locations outside of his hometown and took photographs. Police applied for and received a search warrant for a GPS tracking device for his motor vehicle. Police also installed a hidden motion detector on a telephone pole at a fixed location, among conducting other investigative techniques. They also secured a videotaped admission from the defendant. After an exhaustive review of the thousands of pieces of evidence, Attorney Barabino filed a motion to suppress, with a lengthy memorandum of law. On that day, prior to the hearing, the judge, who would also allow the defendant to admit to the allegation, took an agreed tender that if the defendant stays out of legal trouble for about a year and a half, the charge would be dismissed. This disposition is called a Continued Without a Finding or “CWOF”. The probation is administrative, so the client does not have to appear at the probation department.
Result: Motion to Dismiss, FILED, PLEA Entered and if Abides by Probation Terms Case will be DISMISSED.

May 21, 2015
Assault and Battery Chapter
Assault and Battery with Dangerous Weapon
Strangulation or Suffocation
Assault and Battery with Dangerous Weapon
Client had been on probation when he was charged with the above offenses. The Commonwealth sought to invoke a No Bail “58A” detention prior to trial. The probation department also sought a detainer to hold him without bail. He wasn’t going anywhere, and on Attorney Barabino's advice, the client did not challenge the hold prior to any trial. The reason not to challenge it was because he would not be successful and it could preserve testimonial evidence against him at trial. That advice proved essential since at trial the Commonwealth was unable to prove its case with the evidence it had. The District Attorney sought a second trial date to obtain prison phone calls. Once that proved unsuccessful, at another trial date, a dismissal of all charges was obtained. The court declined to invoke the suspended sentence on the probation matter. Client was given a very short jail term and was to be released within 4–6 weeks, with no convictions.
Result: ALL CHARGES DISMISSED. Probation Reinstated with NO IMPOSITION OF TWO-YEAR SUSPENDED SENTENCE.

May 19, 2015
Drug, Possession Class A, Subsequent Offense
According to police, they arrived at a local McDonald's bathroom to find the accused under the influence of a drug and with brown bags of powder and a needle. According to police, he admitted that he had taken heroin. The Commonwealth made an attempt to obtain medical records to support the charge, but after a hearing, that was denied. Also, the Commonwealth was unable to obtain a drug certification certificate from the state crime lab. As a result, on the day of trial, they simply withdrew the prosecution. The court and its staff along with the District Attorney were professional, competent, and classy. In the end, the case was withdrawn from prosecution. In essence, dismissed.
Result: Class “A” Possession, SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE, DISMISSED.

May 7, 2015
Possession of Class “A” Heroin
Possession of Class “E” Gabapentin
Possession of Class “B” Suboxone
License Suspended, Operating Motor Vehicle
Disguise to Obstruct Justice
Client was a hard-working contractor who was a target of a drug task force. The task force pulled him over with no license, and the client’s giving a fake name and information resulted in arrest. In addition, the task force had warrants. Upon searching the motor vehicle, they found various drugs of different categories. He was charged with illegally possessing those as well. Also, client had recently been released after doing a committed jail sentence for various crimes. Fortunately, Attorney Barabino and client reviewed the case and Attorney Barabino found an imperfection with the arrest process, an imperfection that could lead to a judge determining that the arrest was illegal and that the evidence should be thrown out. After Attorney Barabino provided the court with a detailed legal memorandum, a hearing was set. Attorney Barabino and an experienced, seasoned DA, reviewed the progress client had been making and the probability that defense could be successful. Since drug screens would not be compatible with his job, both parties agreed on a two-year Continued Without a Finding (CWOF), which meant that the case would be dismissed after two years. No drug screens or attendance with probation would be necessary.
Result: Motion to Suppress, FILED, Probation with NO CONVICTIONS if he continues crime-free for two years. NO DRUG SCREENS OR PROBATION CONDITIONS REQUIRED.

May 4, 2015
Drug, Possession Class D (Weed), Distribute
Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law
According to police, while on patrol in a high-crime area, they noticed what they believed to be a drug transaction. They produced a lengthy police report, which detailed their observations. The officers based their actions on a hunch and that hunch proved to be correct. An attempt to suppress the evidence as the fruit of an illegal search was surprisingly unsuccessful. However, Attorney Barabino and client moved on. After viewing the scene with the client, reviewing the evidence in the possession of the government, and preparing witnesses, a trial date was set. The government had an admission of wrongdoing from the defendant, a quarter pound of weed (some individually bagged and other empty bags), a scale, and a little more than two hundred dollars as evidence. Despite appearing ready at the first trial date, the Commonwealth was not ready. As a sanction, the judge said at the next date they must appear ready. On the second date, they were unable to answer ready and the judge agreed to dismiss the case.
Result: Class “D” Intent to Distribute, DISMISSED, Conspiracy DISMISSED.