Lowell Ref Attack Earns Fan Inaugural "Horse's Ass" Award

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Exactly what happened at a youth basketball tournament at UMass Lowell is why refereeing SUCKS!!
For those who haven’t heard, UMass Lowell Police Officer Peter Morelli confirmed an angry spectator attacked a basketball referee after being ejected from a game between Lowell and Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday afternoon during a tournament that featured 193 teams from across the region.
Players’ ages ranged from 5th grade to 8th grade—roughly boys and girls ages 11 to 15.
Players on the court for the game were 7th graders.
“We don’t know if it was a parent or relative of a parent, but it was an adult,” Morelli said.
He said the about 6-feet, 3 to 4-inch, 220 pound black man threw water at the referee as he was being escorted out of the gym after being ejected.
"He didn't make an obscene gesture," Morelli said. "He was waving his arms and being verbally abusive--overly verbally abusive," he said.
Tossed from the gym near the end of the game, the man waited for the ref to come through a corridor and then punched him in the chest, a blow that was hard enough to knock down the referee, a man he described as just about as tall as the assailant.
"He looked like a basketball type--almost as big as the alleged suspect," Morelli said.
Morelli said the man took off afterward and initially people in the auditorium balked at telling police who the man was. Morelli said very few tried to help the ref after the attack.
"A few took the lead, but no one did much to help," Morelli said.
Since the game, Morelli said calls have come in and police may question a suspect and possibly press charges.
Morelli said he was concerned about the punch because a hard blow to the chest could have triggered a heart attack.
“That was my concern,” Morelli said. “I told him if he had complications later he should go to the hospital,” Morelli said, noting the referee was probably in his mid-40s.
Luckily, an actual physical attack on a referee is pretty rare and in this case injuries are said to be minor and the referee did not go to the hospital—at least right away.
There have been times when refs have taken their lives into their own hands, most memorably when a referee was gunned down after a World Cup soccer match in 1989, a player in 1994, and in Kenya in 2002.
But that’s pro sports, right? Youth sports aren’t hostile and dangerous. Most of the time they’re not, and Tuesday, the suspect was lucky. His attack thus far has not caused injury, but what if it had?
Just ask Thomas Junta, the hockey dad who killed another parent after losing control over play between their sons. He spent 8 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
As a rookie soccer referee, I still remember the immortal words of advice from long-time soccer referee Dennis LaVersa--namesake of the Dennis LaVersa Massachusetts Tournament of Champions Referee of the Year award--telling would-be refs in my first certification class back in the mid-1980s that one of the best things you can do as a referee is park your car so you can drive away as fast as possible.
“In case you have to make a fast get-away,” LaVersa said then and his words of wisdom still hold true nearly 30 years later.
Yeah, being involved in youth sports most of the time is fun and rewarding, but when it isn’t, it’s the worst of nightmares.
"You want to volunteer, you want to, but things like this make it very difficult," Officer Morelli said.
I’ve got an idea.
Whoever the culprit is should be forced--either by the courts or his own shame--to community service, as a referee.
Give him 4 years and make him be a basketball ref AND a referee in a sport he knows nothing about, since most spectators haven’t got a clue what the rules of the game—any game--are.
Four years. That’s about right--enough time to take the courses—and he should pay for them—and then hit the court or field in the black and white stripes and see what it’s like.
Maybe after that he’ll punch himself in the face.
It ain’t easy being the ref.
People shouting at you all the time. Telling you you’re an idiot and you need glasses. Mostly it’s small stuff. Most of the time everything is fine. The comments toughen you up, and the more experience you get the more confidence you build. You realize most of the time the fans are clueless and should be ignored.
Becoming a ref is a great way to grow a thick skin and prepare for life’s road ahead. It can also be good extra money.
Some refs relish the abuse. Some tune it out. A huge percentage quit.
Luckily, the kids are great. I understand their passion. The coaches’ too, but an overheated schmuck sitting in the stands?
To the spectator: What game am I watching? Which one are YOU watching?
Do YOU know the rules?
From your comments, doesn’t sound like it.
Oh, you do know the rules?
Then get off your keister and become a ref and see what it’s like.
Sitting in the stands is sooooooooo much easier!!
How comfortable it is to just sit there on your rump, yell, scream and point fingers at the ref.
We can take stuff like, “are you blind,” or “you’re an idiot,” or “what game are you watching,” or “is your kid on the team.”
Even “you suck” is easily deflected.
I’ve seen some games that have been so badly officiated I’m not sure they should even count. Sometimes the comments are deserved.
OK fine.
But to chase down a ref after the game and confront him, punch him, throw water on him, and knock him down is completely ridiculous.
You go do it.
Yeah, maybe there’s a bad call—we’ve seen a few around the state lately, most recently a football referee who called a penalty on a Cathedral High School player for taunting when he momentarily put a #1 in the air with his hand while he was on his way to scoring what would have been a Super Bowl winning touch down.
Instead, the referee threw a flag, called the touch down back and Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School went on to win the championship.
Bad call?
From the news clips, I thought so, but that ref—I’m sure—has taken his lumps for the call.
Don’t think he needs to be assaulted.
Maybe he thinks it was the right call. League officials supported it, the public disagrees.
So be it.
We all live with the results.
Sadly, this man in Lowell lost his cool.
From all accounts, both teams and their supporters vocally let the ref know they thought he sucked.
Guess being pelted with insults wasn’t enough to show the ref how terrible he may have been.
Maybe the ref had the worst game of his life.
Maybe it was quite the opposite and he called a great game under intense play and extreme pressure.
Officer Morelli said the game was very intense and hard-fought. He said he felt uncomfortable around the parents and spectators even after the game when police sought the identity of the suspect.
Sounds like emotions were waaaay high...maybe the ref did a better job than fans gave him credit for.
Plus, basketball refereeing is so technical, no way on this planet would I officiate the sport.
Whether it was a badly called game or well done under the conditions, either way, Mr. attack-the-ref, you are BrocktonPost.com’s first-ever “Horse’s Ass Award” winner.
You think you can do a better job?
Go do it—I dare you.

Inauguration, Swearing-In Ceremony, Monday

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Although City Hall will be closed in observance of the New Year's holiday, Brockton's first female mayor, Linda Balzotti will be sworn in for her second term.
Also, returning and new members of the City Council and School Committee will be sworn in.
The ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall. The event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

New League, New Chance For Rox?

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—The Rox are not done for the 2012 season, yet.
According to Brockton’s Finance Director John Condon, plans are in the works to continue the Rox at Campanelli Stadium for the 2012 season and beyond.
“I’m pretty confident there will be baseball at Campanelli Stadium next season,” Condon said.
He said discussions are ongoing, but the ball is in the hands of the Brockton 21st Century Corp., a public-private entity that oversees the Rox, Campanelli Stadium and the Shaw’s Center.
Condon said because of a complicated lease arrangement with the Rox, the City of Brockton and Shaw’s Center it is up to the Brockton 21st Century to give the go-ahead to a new league that would play at Campanelli Stadium.
“It’s hanging on a lease agreement,” Condon said. “I’m involved but I don’t have the power to say ‘yea’ or ‘nay,” Condon said.
Maura Russell, with Brockton 21st Century Corp., pointed all questions about the matter to Condon, who would only say discussions are close to completion.
Sources close to the Rox have said plans are in the works for a lease agreement for the Rox to leave the Can-Am League and move to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, a move that requires the Brockton 21st Century change its requirement that professional baseball be played at Campanelli Stadium.
The Futures Collegiate League is a one-year-old league that showcases elite college ball players from the New England area, many of whom are expected to make the prestigious Cape Cod League and possibly earn their way into a Major League Baseball team.
Chris Carminucci, general manager for the Rox, said he could not comment about any plans to move the Rox to the Futures league, however, Carminucci is a director of the Futures league, and the Rox logo has already been posted under the Lowell Spinners on the Futures League website.
Another director of the Futures League is Drew Weber, owner operator of the Lowell Spinners, a Red Sox minor league affiliate.
Sources said they hoped an announcement would be made today, however, with the holidays sources said negotiations are still taking place.
The Futures League includes a handful of teams from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Recently a group from Pittsfield and Wachusett announced it would join the Futures league as has another from Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Chief Conlon Pushes Retirement To Feb.

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Brockton Mayor Linda Balzotti said it is very likely that she will name an interim chief after current chief William Conlon retires—a step she will take once Conlon leaves office, which was expected at the end of this month, but has been postponed until February.
“Right now what I want to do is maintain consistency and I will more than likely put someone in as an interim acting chief,” Balzotti said.
In June, Conlon announced he would retire at the end of the year, however, Conlon said he has extended his retirement to about the middle of February.
Conlon’s contract ends April 30, 2012, and he can stay until then, although he said he doubts he will stay longer than about mid-February when he plans to take a couple weeks vacation before heading into the next phase of his life.
“When I take my vacation I’ll be done,” Conlon said in a telephone interview Friday. (Conlon pictured above during Memorial Day Parade)
Conlon said he does not plan to stay until the April 30th end of his contract and is waiting until the middle of February to retire because the weather at the end of December and through January doesn’t offer a lot of activities for someone just embarking on the end of a career.
“I figured I’d wait until the middle, or end of February, but it looks like the middle of February,” Conlon said.
He said he doesn’t expect to extend his extension to April 30.
Until Conlon officially submits his retirement in writing, Personnel Director Maureen Cruise said Mayor Balzotti can’t take any action to fill his shoes.
“He hasn’t given the mayor a retirement date and until he does the mayor can’t take any action because there is a contract in place,” Cruise said.
Cruise said Balzotti also must wait to make any appointment, police chief or otherwise, until her re-inauguration Monday, Jan. 2 because city ordinance prevents the mayor from making any appointments during the 90 days leading to the end of a term—even if reelected.
Balzotti said Conlon’s retirement extension isn’t a problem because she plans to take her time with a permanent replacement and expects to name a temporary department head.
“There’s nothing that says the minute the chief steps down I have to name a successor,” Balzotti said.
Because the city voted to move the police chief’s position out of Civil Service about 10 years ago, the mayor is responsible for Conlon’s replacement.
According to Cruise, Balzotti does not have to have a wide search, publicly advertise the position or form a search committee--as some have called for.
Conlon said it is Balzotti’s appointment to make and although he has extended his retirement more than a month, there is nothing stopping Balzotti from moving toward filling his position.
Conlon said he believes it is important for Balzotti to choose a new chief who is willing to work with a host of local, state and federal organizations, not only law enforcement types like the State Police, Drug Enforcement Agency, DA’s Office, and FBI, but also local groups like the Rotary Club, school officials, parent organizations and the media.
“The position really needs someone who is willing to cooperate with numerous committees, organizations and groups,” Conlon said.
Balzotti echoed Conlon’s words, noting she is in agreement that the next chief must be someone who can continue the cooperation between Brockton’s Police Department and other law enforcement agencies operating in the city.
“We can’t afford to have an individual who can’t or won’t—because there are those who won’t—work with those other agencies,” Balzotti said.
She also said the next chief has to be someone she is comfortable having in the job and who she is comfortable working with, who she is certain can run day-to-day operations, communicate with other city departments and the public.
Although there is not a specific process of accepting resumes and applications, Balzotti said through her tenure as a public official she has a good grasp on who might be interested in the acting or permanent chief’s position, and those who may not want any part of being temporary or permanent chief.

Constable Will Not Face Gun, Endangerment Charges

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A clerk magistrate has decided a South Shore constable will not face charges after pulling a gun during an arrest of a dead-beat dad in the student-filled parking lot of Trinity Catholic Academy’s Upper Campus.
William Sullivan, the lawyer for Adam Loomis, one of two well-known South Shore constables who arrested parent George Haikal at the school in October, said he has received a letter from Clerk Magistrate Philip McCue that rejects charges of endangerment of the dead-beat dad’s children and assault with a dangerous weapon issued by Brockton Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.
“I think this was the right decision under the law,” Sullivan said in a telephone interview.
While he would not release a copy of the letter—which court officials said was not a public document—Sullivan said in McCue’s decision, McCue writes that Loomis, 27, pulled the gun after witnesses said Haikal’s car jumped forward toward Loomis during the early morning arrest and put him in danger of being run down.
A probable cause hearing was held Dec. 1 at Brockton District Court for McCue to decide if the complaint should continue and an arraignment beheld on the felony charges.
McCue, a Plymouth District Court magistrate, heard testimony from four witnesses from the school, including teacher Annette Bailey and Ward 5 City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli.
“I think the evidence was very clear when (the constables) went to effectuate the arrest the intention was not to use force,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he believed it was Annette Bailey’s testimony that made the difference.
During testimony Bailey said she believed Adam Loomis would have been knocked over by Haikal’s car and it was not until then did he pull his gun.
Dennis DeNapoli, who was standing near the vehicle said in news accounts and in court he did not believe Loomis was in danger when the car rolled forward. He also said he believed the car moved forward because Haikal was being grabbed by the neck by Loomis’ father Jerold Loomis, and his foot came off the accelerator.
DeNapoli, who has said he believes the pair should lose their constable licenses, did not return calls for comment.
Sullivan said he does not believe Adam or Jerold Loomis intended to use force that day and it was Haikal who did not exit the vehicle when ordered to do so that escalated the situation.
Sullivan would not say if the pair of constables made a bad decision to try and arrest Haikal on the school’s grounds.
“I think the lesson to a lot of (constables) is not to anticipate the person they are arresting will go peacefully,” Sullivan said.

Brockton Postal Plant Part Of Closure Study

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Seven regional postal facilities, including Brockton are being looked at for possible closing next year, however a spokesman for United States Postal Service said no decisions have been made and reports that the facilities in the state will close are not accurate.
“We haven’t made a decision one way or another,” said USPS spokesman Dennis P. Tarmey. “We are still studying these plants for possible consolidation and no decision has been made to close the Brockton plant at this time,” he said.
The USPS announced Monday it was continuing a process to look at closing or consolidating seven plants around the state, including Brockton’s facility at 225 Liberty St. that employs nearly 400 people.
The other facilities are in Boston, Waltham, North Reading, Shrewsbury, Wareham, and Lowell.
Tarmey said the announcement was misconstrued and disseminated by news outlets that the plants were in fact closing.
He said the news reports prompted calls of concern from employees and customers throughout the state.
Tarmey said what the USPS is doing is continuing to look at these plants for consolidation, a plan that began in September and will continue into next year.
He said before any decision is made public meetings will be held, in or near the seven communities, including Brockton.
Those meetings have not been scheduled yet and are expected early next year.
No decisions would be made until those meetings are held, and no decisions would be made until the USPS receives an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
He said in each plant’s case, there is a possibility that one or more could close or be consolidated into another, such as Boston moving to North Reading, or North Reading moving to Boston.
“It depends on a lot of issues—transportation, space…we have to see what makes the most sense,” Tarmey said.
He said one idea is possibly to consolidate Brockton's plant with one in Providence, Rhode Island.
The USPS is looking at closing or consolidating 252 processing facilities across the country and could potentially layoff about 30,000 employees to save $3 billion and avoid potential bankruptcy.
According to the USPS, annual mail volume has decreased by more than 43 million pieces over the last 5 years and total first class mail volume has dropped 25 percent and single-piece first class mail—letters bearing postage stamps—has declined by 36 percent during the last 5 years.
The closings and consolidation's would be a change in the postal service's 40-year-old standard of delivering first-class mail the next day.

Celebratory Send Off For Matriach Cruise Kennedy

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—Family and friends of Mary Cruise Kennedy, the matriarch of Brockton’s Cruise-Kennedy clan, gathered Saturday to not only mourn the loss of the 101-year-old former head nurse, but also celebrate the life of a woman who was ahead of her time.
“She had such a great life,” said Ward 1 City Councilor Timothy Cruise, Mary Kennedy’s nephew. “She was blessed,” he said.
Cruise said in a recent interview that while family members were saddened by the news Mary died peacefully of pneumonia Saturday, Nov. 26 at Brockton Hospital where she graduated from the hospital’s nursing school in 1931.
Mary Cruise Kennedy was the eldest of 9 children who led the family when the children's parents died young.
During a brief time when she worked at the former Lakeville State Hospital, she met her husband Bob, and had four children of her own, including State Senator Thomas Kennedy.
Tim Cruise said while Mary’s passing is sad, he said hundreds of family members were expected to converge on Russell & Pica Funeral Home last Thursday and Friday for calling hours, followed by services at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton.
“It’s a celebration, a celebration of a great lady,” Cruise said. “She had a great run. She was the glue that kept things together. We’ll miss her,” he said.
Tim Cruise said the 40 or so first cousins who were expected to attend last week’s services held a lot of respect for his aunt, and many children in the family didn’t dare cause trouble while Mary Cruise Kennedy was around.
“Just a look was enough,” Tim Cruise said.
Cruise Kennedy was also a woman ahead of her time in the medical field.
Graduating from Brockton Hospital’s Nursing School in 1931, she soon became the head nurse, a position she held for decades.
Tim Cruise said he always took for granted his aunt’s position as a nurse and only realized how hard she struggled and fought to be taken seriously and not let male chauvinism stop her from helping her patients.
“I never realized until I was older how difficult it was for her, and other women back then,” Cruise said. “If she thought a doctor was wrong, she would let them know, she wasn’t going to back down,” he said.
Cruise Kennedy volunteered in many capacities, and helped found first of its kind programs the Edwina Martin Recovery House for Women and the Ann Ward Congregate Assisted Living Home at the former St. Edward's Convent.
Active and sharp, Cruise Kennedy's endeavors decreased in her 90s when she voluntarily gave up her driver's license.
She is also the namesake of the Council on Aging's Mary Cruise Kennedy Senior Center where she made a surprise and welcome visit with one of her two sons State Senator Thomas Kennedy for the Council on Aging's annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.
For a full background on Mary Cruise Kennedy’s life, please click here to visit Mary Cruise Kennedy’s obituary.

Constable Gun Draw Charges Rest With Magistrate

By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—All a South Shore constable, his constable father, school officials, witnesses and a dead-beat dad the two well-known constables arrested in the parking lot of Brockton's Trinity Catholic Academy can do is wait for a clerk magistrate’s decision on whether or not pulling out a gun during the arrest should be a criminal offense.
During a probable cause hearing in Brockton District Court Thursday afternoon, Philip McCue, a Plymouth District Court magistrate, after about 90 minutes of testimony from Trinity Catholic School officials—including Principal Cynthia Dunn-McNally and Ward 5 City Councilor Dennis DeNapoli—said his decision would be based on whether the gun draw by constable Adam Loomis was an assault with a dangerous weapon and endangered the two children of the arrested father.
The two charges are felonies and could jeopardize Loomis’ right to carry a firearm and possibly result in the loss of his constable’s license in the communities he operates.
“It’s clear what happened that day is really inexcusable, but whether it rose to criminality,” McCue said at the close of the hearing.
Loomis’ defense hinges on whether he was justified in drawing his gun against George Haikal, a former restaurant owner and father of two boys who had been arrested by the Loomis’ in 2008 and 2009, and April, 2011 for nonpayment of child support for his two sons.
Another arrest warrant was issued for Haikal in October for non-payment of $45,000 in child support.
Loomis, standing in front of Haikal’s station wagon, pulled his gun when the car driven by Haikal lunged forward when the constables attempted to make the arrest.
What’s not disputed is that Loomis pulled the gun.
What is in dispute is why, and if brandishing the weapon endangered Haikal’s two young sons, who were in the car and in the process of getting out of the car, when the weapon was pointed over the hood at the windshield toward Haikal.
The arrest warrant allowed Loomis and his father Jerold—best known for his participation in pop star Bobby Brown’s 1997 arrest--the authority to arrest Haikal anywhere in the state, and after spotting Haikal heading to Trinity Catholic in a brown station wagon on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at about 7:15 a.m., the two constables followed Haikal to the school’s busy parking lot.
Loomis, who lives in Rockland and is a licensed constable in Scituate and Quincy, in a statement read by Quincy attorney William Sullivan and submitted into evidence, said Haikal appeared to know he was being followed because Haikal took evasive and erratic steps to “lose” the constables by taking sharp quick turns without signaling and turning up and down different streets until the trio of vehicles arrived at Trinity Catholic’s Upper Campus at 35 Erie Ave.
Loomis, said Haikal’s car moved forward and that was when Loomis pulled the gun because he feared for his life.
In the statement, Loomis said he had his badge displayed and identified himself.
Witnesses disagreed, the Loomis’ made it clear who they were and what they were doing.
City councilor Dennis DeNapoli, who testified he has known Haikal for 10 to 12 years, said the car lunge- forward was not life threatening and may have jumped because the other constable was grabbing Haikal by the neck and Haikal’s foot came off the brake.
The car, DeNapoli said, had not been placed into park.
Four witnesses testified, including Principal Dunn-McNally, DeNapoli, and Trinity Catholic teachers John Ballard and Annette Bailey.
Loomis did not testify and neither did Haikal, who attended the hearing with his lawyer David Asack.
All of the witnesses except Ballard, who is hard of hearing, said the constables shouted at Haikal to get out of the car, and the shouting drew attention to the scene in the parking lot.
DeNapoli said he heard the shouting and recognized Haikal’s car and headed over to see what was going on. He said he did not know Haikal was wanted for arrest.
DeNapoli said the constables did not identify themselves and only about ¾ quarters of the way through the event--that all witnesses said happened in less than 1 or 2 minutes—that he heard the constables were there on an arrest warrant.
Loomis’s lawyer Sullivan questioned DeNapoli’s memory and observations when he presented a written statement by DeNapoli about the event in which DeNapoli says it is Jerold Loomis at the front of the car pulling the gun and not his son Adam—a description DeNapoli first gave to BrocktonPost.com.
In another article, DeNapoli told BrocktonPost.com he had the men “mixed up” and not knowing which was which or who was who until after the event, came to learn it was Adam Loomis who pulled the gun and that he was initially mistaken.
Sullivan continued to question DeNapoli about the letter and DeNapoli tried to explain the mistake, but became agitated at Sullivan’s questions, and began to move in a herky-jerky way--moving from one foot to the other, side to side, and putting his hands in his pockets, and making hand gestures. .
Eventually DeNapoli’s right hand went up in the air in an unusual manner.
Magistrate McCue interrupted DeNapoli’s explanation and told him attorney Sullivan was just doing his job and until that point DeNapoli had “comported himself as a gentleman” and should continue doing so.
DeNapoli said he understood and his testimony ended with him saying Haikal’s two sons were exiting the car when Loomis pulled the gun.
DeNapoli, unlike the other three witnesses, said the Loomis’ came in one vehicle and not two.
The witness after DeNapoli, sixth grade teacher Annette Bailey, testified she saw two cars pull up—one behind, and the other to the right side of Haikal’s wagon—said she heard a commotion and yelling and then saw Haikal’s car lurch forward in a lurch-and-stop, lurch-and-stop action.
She said Loomis had to back up from the car’s movement.
“Yes, I thought he was going to be hit. I thought he was going to go down,” Bailey said.
Another witness, Trinity Catholic computer science teacher John Ballard said he saw Adam Loomis put his hand on or very close to the hood of the car.
“It was clear that the intention was for him to say to the guy stop,” Ballard said.
All of the witnesses said Haikal’s children were in the car when the gun was drawn.
Principal Dunn-McNally said she was standing about 20 to 30 feet away from the car when she saw the gun drawn.
She said not knowing who the Loomis’ were and did not hear anything about an arrest warrant, she thought there had been a road rage incident and once seeing the gun she ordered teachers and students for a building lock-down.
Dunn-McNally said Haikal’s children were in the car when she began rounding up students and staff, and it was not until after Haikal had been pulled out of the car and handcuffed did she see the children again.
“I was at the top of the (school) steps when the two Haikal children ran to me,” Dunn-McNally said. “They were very frightened and I brought them to my office,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Libby said Loomis’ actions showed poor judgment because they could have made the arrest somewhere other than the grounds of Trinity Catholic and the gun draw placed children in the parking lot in danger.
Libby said Loomis’ actions exceeded the arrest warrant and the charges should proceed to an arraignment.
Loomis’ lawyer Sullivan disagreed and said Haikal was “hiding behind his kids,” and he was the one who put his children in danger by not getting out of the car and not paying the child support demanded by Brockton District Court rulings.
“Maybe the arrest would have been better somewhere else, but it’s not enough to meet the standard,” Sullivan said.
Yesterday's probable cause hearing was expected to be closed to the public, however when Magistrate McCue learned members of the press were in attendance he allowed arguments from BrocktonPost.com and WXBR to allow the media to cover the hearing--which McCue did.