Teen denies charges resulting from home invasion attack in Northampton
1
2
3
NORTHAMPTON - The suspect in an attack on a North Street woman inside her house again denied charges Tuesday.
Yaazziel Q. Rivera, 18, whose last known address was 149 Sunderland Road, Amherst, pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to the charges unarmed burglary with assault on an occupant, unarmed robbery, assault and battery on a person 60 or older and threatening to commit murder.
Judge Daniel Ford ordered him held on $50,000 cash bail or $500,000 surety. Rivera will be back in Oct. 6, when prosecutors will make a case that he should give a DNA sample for investigators to compare to crime scene evidence.
If released, Rivera will be placed under house arrest and fitted with a GPS tracking device, said First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne. But Gagne also said he would be "very surprised" if Rivera posts bail.
Jewelry box and $67
Rivera allegedly pushed an air conditioner through a first-floor window to enter the home of Donna Cavanagh Aug. 10. Inside, police allege he repeatedly struck Cavanagh and stole $67 in cash as well as a jewelry box. Rivera's court-appointed lawyer, Rachel Weber of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, declined to comment after Tuesday's hearing.
Cavanagh, 62, suffered facial fractures, which are expected to heal on their own, Cavanagh told the Gazette last week.
Rivera was arrested less than 24 hours after the incident, and soon after a lower court judge ordered him held without bail on the grounds he posed a threat to public safety.
Under state law, a person held without bail must be brought to trial within 90 days. Gagne said the DNA analysis and other forensic investigation is likely to take much longer than that, so he and co-prosecutor Michael Russo reached an agreement with Weber to set bail at $50,000.
To be released under house arrest, Gagne said, Rivera would have to prove he has a stable residence to go to. Weber indicated in court previously that Rivera's parents, who live in Greenfield, are willing to take him in. However, according to Russo, charges are pending against Rivera for allegedly stealing from them in July.
James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
Comments
123456
Thank you for the kind words. My original comments were struck from the record ! I should say !
To know it all
You couldnt have said it any better. walpole will make a better man of him. HMMMM maybe better woman ha ha ha ha ha ha
Lets try this again !
So your son robs you, then goes out and beats up an old woman ! Hmmmm
Who in there right mind would would take him in ? Isnt the jailhouse a stable residence for someone who robs his own parents and beats up an old woman ?
I hope this is acceptable for the "Exalted Ruler of TalkBack Posts"