Baye pleads innocent to murder
1
2
3
4
5
NORTHAMPTON - Anthony Baye entered the courtroom through a side door, his hands cuffed in front of him.
He gave a slight smile to members of his family sitting in the gallery, then sat down at the defendant's table and didn't look back.
Baye's arraignment Monday before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Judd Carhart lasted only a few minutes, and throughout it Baye uttered just four words. Asked by the clerk how he pleaded to two separate counts of murder, Baye answered "Not guilty" to each.
The last time Baye, 25, of 85 Hawley St., was in court was the morning after he was arrested on charges he started a house fire that killed Paul Yeskie Sr. and Paul Yeskie Jr. of Fair Street.
Since then his appearance had changed significantly. His once long hair had been cropped short and spiked, and he traded his T-shirt and pea coat for a collared shirt and suit jacket.
Although more than two months have passed since Baye allegedly set the fires at Fair Street and 14 other locations in Northampton, the court case against him is just beginning. Innocent is the only way a defendant can plead at this early stage.
The seriousness of the charges, and the extraordinary nature of his case, prompted some changes in the court's routine.
In addition to the usual complement of court officers, two Northampton police officers stood by outside the courtroom to keep the peace in case the emotions of anyone inside boiled over. Paul Yeskie Sr.'s widow, Elaine Yeskie, some of her relatives and a number of other fire victims attended the arraignment, as did members and friends of the Baye family.
Typically, the charges against a defendant aren't stated during an arraignment, and the defense lawyer does all of the talking, pleading innocent on his or her client's behalf.
But murder indictments must be read aloud into the record, and the defendant himself must respond, according to Clerk Magistrate Harry Jekanowski Jr.
The reading of the first murder count went like this:
"The jury for the said Commonwealth, on their oath, present that Anthony P. Baye of Northampton in the county of Hampshire on or before the 27th day of December in the year two thousand and nine at Northampton in the county of Hampshire did assault and beat Paul Yeskie Sr. with intent to murder him, and by such assault and battery, did murder said person."
The legal language is a little misleading. Baye isn't accused of physically striking Yeskie with his fists, but rather setting fire to his house with a cigarette lighter.
Aside from the murder counts, Baye faces 42 other charges relating to the Dec. 27 fires. His attorneys waived the formal reading of those, and entered Baye's innocent pleas for him.
Baye is represented by defense attorneys Tom Lesser and David Hoose, and prosecutors in the case are Deputy First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Dunphy Farris and Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Michael Cahillane.
Both sides agreed that Baye, at least for the time being, should be held without bail at the Hampshire Jail and House of Correction. The agreement leaves the door open for Baye's lawyers to later argue for his release on bail.
If they don't, Baye won't return to court until Oct. 12 for a pretrial hearing, when lawyers typically discuss the case's progress with a judge.
In interviews after the hearing, Lesser and Hoose both declined to discuss details of the case or what possible defense they might mount. They said they hadn't yet received any discovery, or information from the prosecution, aside from police reports and search warrants that already have been released publicly.
Lesser said he and Hoose have each practiced law for 30 years and have experience with murder and arson cases.
Asked how Baye and his family were faring, Lesser said, "Given that he's never been charged with any crime in his life and now he's incarcerated at the House of Correction, they're doing reasonably well. It's a difficult time."
A Northampton resident, Hoose said he had no reservations about representing the person accused of starting the fires, which set the city on edge.
"The thing to keep in mind is he is only accused of setting those fires," Hoose said. "He's a local kid ... Lots of people know him and support him."
Each of the 44 charges against Baye stems from an intensive investigation of the Dec. 27 fires by local, state and federal authorities and a grand jury inquiry that wrapped up Feb. 23. Among the charges laid out in the grand jury's indictments are the two murder counts, five counts of arson of a dwelling and 14 counts of arson of a motor vehicle.
The indictments describe some of the items Baye allegedly ignited in attempts to start structure or vehicle fires: a wreath and a wicker basket outside a Crescent Street home, gloves and a book inside a car parked on Highland Avenue, and a snow globe and folder inside a car on Franklin Street.
Speaking to reporters after Monday's arraignment, Cahillane offered no new details of his office's case against Baye.
He did make reference to earlier unsolved fires in Northampton, but didn't indicate whether authorities believe Baye was involved.
"The investigation into the other fires that happened before Dec. 27 is still active and ongoing," Cahillane said.
James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
Comments
Pre-Trial October 12th.
The victims who have suffered thru this ordeal now must wait longer for any closure. When they say the wheels of justice run slow. They aren't kidding.