Baye defense hints at challenges to Northampton arson evidence
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NORTHAMPTON - Lawyers for Anthony Baye, accused of an arson spree that burned homes and cars and left two men dead, dropped their first hints Thursday of how they plan to defend their client.
Baye, 26, of 85 Hawley St., has pleaded innocent in Hampshire Superior Court to numerous charges - including two counts of murder - related to 15 fires authorities allege he set around Northampton Dec. 27, 2009.
His lawyers, David Hoose and Thomas Lesser, said they plan to file three motions within the next two months that will challenge the prosecution's evidence against Baye, including his alleged confession.
Meanwhile, the new team of prosecutors handling the case made its first appearance in court Thursday. Special prosecutor Brett Vottero, who has handled multiple arson cases in Hampden County and around the state, is now working on the Baye case full-time.
Flanking him at the prosecution table was Thomas Townsend, the new head of appeals in the Northwestern district attorney's office. He said afterward he was already preparing in the event that disputed issues in the case are appealed to a higher court.
Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan and First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne were also in the courtroom. So were a number of arson victims, including Elaine Yeskie, whose husband and son died in one of the fires.
Defense tactics
Before any case goes to trial, the defense has opportunities to try to block pieces of the prosecution's evidence for various reasons.
Hoose indicated he and Lesser will question whether prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to a grand jury to indict Baye on certain charges - Hoose did not specify which. The so-called McCarthy motion is to be filed by Feb. 18.
The defense will also try to argue that police officers didn't have probable cause to pull Baye over on the night of the fires. A motion on this aspect of the case is also due Feb. 18.
According to police reports included in court files, Baye was stopped twice - first by a state trooper on Crescent Street and minutes later by a Northampton detective on Bancroft Road.
Both officers reported that Baye appeared to have been drinking alcohol and was wet from the rain. The detective, Corey Robinson, said Baye had a cigarette lighter with him. Authorities allege that's what Baye used to set the fires.
No reason is given for either traffic stop in any of the police reports that are available to the public.
Baye wasn't arrested until nine days after the fires. Before they arrested him, Hoose said, police interrogated Baye for 10½ hours.
In a video of the interrogation, Hoose said, Baye's answers to some questions are inaudible. The first draft of a transcript contained numerous gaps, he said.
A new version provided by the prosecution Wednesday isn't much better, Hoose said. He said prosecutors had the state trooper who conducted the interrogation fill in the blanks from memory.
"That's obviously unacceptable to me and not helpful," Hoose told Judge Mary-Lou Rup. He said the recording must be enhanced and an accurate transcript made.
"Some of the (missing) words are critical," he said.
Vottero said the defense has had its own copy of the interrogation tapes for 10 months, and has had ample opportunity to try to enhance the recording.
Also at issue is whether Baye made his statements to police voluntarily, though Hoose and Lesser wouldn't elaborate on this point.
A motion to suppress Baye's alleged confession is to be filed by March 18.
Trial outlook
While Vottero said he'd like to take the case to trial as soon as May, Hoose said the defense likely wouldn't be ready until the fall.
If and when the case progresses to a trial, Lesser said, the defense would try to move it to another county.
"This is the most publicized case in Hampshire County history," Lesser said in an interview. "It's unrealistic to think we're going to get a fair jury in Hampshire County."
Vottero said he and the defense agreed on one issue - having one judge assigned to handle all aspects of Baye's case from now on.
Judges rotate through Hampshire Superior Court on a regular basis, meaning different judges handle different pieces of each case, such as arraignments, motion hearings and trials.
Hoose said that in the past, homicide cases usually were assigned to a single judge who ruled on pretrial motions and presided over the trial. That would make sense in Baye's case, he said.
Rup said it would be up to the first justice of the state's superior courts, Barbara Rouse, to decide whether to assign a judge to the case.
Baye is due back in court Feb. 8 for a status conference.
James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
Comments
The defense will also try to
The defense will also try to argue that police officers didn't have probable cause to pull Baye over on the night of the fires. A motion on this aspect of the case is also due Feb. 18.
According to police reports included in court files, Baye was stopped twice - first by a state trooper on Crescent Street and minutes later by a Northampton detective on Bancroft Road.
Both officers reported that Baye appeared to have been drinking alcohol and was wet from the rain. The detective, Corey Robinson, said Baye had a cigarette lighter with him. Authorities allege that's what Baye used to set the fires....
Just a brief comment on this, I think police had probable cause to stop anyone that night at that hour of the morning. They were investigating arson fires throughout the city !!!!!!