NORTHAMPTON — Rejecting the commonwealth’s argument that being drunk in his apartment with a pistol on the kitchen counter violated the defendant’s pretrial conditions of release, a Hampshire Superior Court judge declined Monday to revoke bail for a former Southampton man facing aggravated rape and a raft of related charges in a case involving three women.
Judge James Manitsas said the question before him was whether Mathieu J. Tebo had violated the terms set by Judge Richard Carey in January when he released Tebo on $25,000 bail. Among the conditions was that he refrain from excessive alcohol consumption.
According to Assistant District Attorney Sandra Staub, the incident in question arose after Tebo, a 41-year-old former mortgage loan officer, had been drinking during the day at a bar, then continued drinking later at his South Hadley apartment with a friend. Both are U.S. Air Force veterans.
The friend, who was licensed to carry a weapon, removed his Ruger SR45 pistol and laid it on the kitchen counter. When he left, Staub said, he forgot to take his gun. When he realized what he’d done, he went back to get it, but he couldn’t find the door to Tebo’s apartment.
Neighbors called the police when the man started banging on their door. When police responded to Tebo’s apartment and found the gun, Tebo told them he didn’t know it was there.
“How drunk do you have to be to not know there’s a Ruger on your kitchen counter?” Staub said.
Although Judge Carey denied the commonwealth’s motion for pretrial detention in January, Staub said he did find Tebo dangerous. She said his behavior escalated over time, and he terrorized one of the women with violent sexual assaults, holding her hostage and threatening to kill her and her son.
Many of the alleged crimes occurred in his home while he was “on a tear,” drinking and doing cocaine for days, Staub said. She said the three women were “terrified” to learn that he had a Ruger in his possession while he was drinking, and although he was not charged, she said this would amount to illegal possession of a firearm under the law.
Defense attorney Judith Knight said there was a reasonable explanation for Tebo not knowing the gun was still in his apartment. He was in another room when his friend left, she said, and stayed there until the police arrived because he was charging his ankle monitor. She disputed that her client was drinking excessively, saying he had “a couple of cocktails.” He has not had any contact with the alleged victims since the matter landed in court and has complied with all conditions of release, she said.
Police returned the gun to the friend, who may be charged with improper storage of a weapon, Knight said. Police did not charge Tebo with possession of a firearm, and although the police report did cite his glassy eyes and slightly slurred speech, Manitsas agreed with Knight that this did not amount to excessive alcohol consumption.
“I’m not going to revoke bail based on the police report,” he said.
Manitsas did caution Tebo that the charges against him are serious, and warned him against any future violations of his release conditions.
Tebo faces 22 charges in Hampshire County — two counts of aggravated rape, four counts of rape, and two counts each of indecent assault, strangulation or suffocation, stalking, assault and battery and threat to commit a crime, along with single counts of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, violating an abuse prevention order, extortion by threat of injury and intimidating a witness.
Eight more charges out of Franklin County — three counts of rape, two counts of assault and battery on a family/household member, and single counts of strangulation or suffocation, stalking and extortion by threat of injury — were added to the indictment.
The case is provisionally set to go to trial in February.
James Pentland can be reached at jpentland@gazettenet.com