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No convictions in the case of a woman who had her arm sliced off by a boat propeller in Boston Harbor
By adamg on Wed, 06/07/2017 - 2:31pm
A Suffolk Superior Court judge today acquitted Benjamin Urbelis of nautical OUI charges related to the way a passenger on his Naut Guilty boat had her arm sliced off in Boston Harbor in 2015 during a boozey cruise with underage women, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
Urbelis had agreed to plead guilty to one count of furnishing alcohol to minors, but Judge Linda Giles instead continued that case without a finding for one year, which means that if Urbelis stays out of trouble during that time, he will not have a conviction on his record. Giles did order him to attend at least 10 AA meetings, the DA's office reports.
The man who was at the wheel of the boat while Urbelis and some guests were in the water, Alexander Williams, was ready to plead guilty in April to negligent operation, furnishing alcohol to minors and evidence tampering, but the same judge rejected that and instead continued his case without a finding for two years.
Giles did order Williams to pay $5,000 in restitution, undergo an alcohol-awareness program and perform 200 hours of community service at a hospital that cares for people who suffer traumatic limb problems such as having them sliced off by a boat propeller.
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Comments
WTF?!
Did the judge give any reason for refusing the guilty pleas? This is insane.
I'll give it for her
"I'm a giant wuss and the defendant is a guy with money and beyond reproach."
Lawyers defending their own.
Lawyers defending their own.
This guy isn't even banned from ever operating a boat again. Literally no consequences. Not even disbarment for character deficiency.
Can you ban someone from
Can you ban someone from driving a boat?
Yeah
They called that "walking the plank" in olden times.
Well, if it were the driver
Well, if it were the driver "walking the plank" that's mutiny!
Unconditional profession defense
Never understood that. I'll tell you that plenty of trivia hosts are terrible.
Why would he be banned from operating a boat?
He wasn't on the boat when it took the young lady's arm off.
There are multiple hes in the
There are multiple hes in the story.
There sure are...
I was referring to the owner of the boat, as was (presumably) the previous comment. The previous comment mentioned "lawyers protecting their own" so that kind of gave it away in my mind.
So sorry about that confusion.
No,
My bad, I should have replied to anon 2:55.
give the guy some credit
He did say that he knew all the tricks when he was arrested, pretty much turned out exactly as he had predicted
Thank god it didn't happen in a bar
or they'd have hauled him before a board, revoked his license, fines, maybe jail time.
Should be disbarred but OUI probably not the right charge
I'm no fan of Benjamin Urbelis but if you believe the story and police reports, he was swimming and wasn't operating the boat at the time of the girl's arm being sliced off. "Operating" is the O in OUI and a necessary element for conviction. Granted, the Captain is always in charge of the ship but I can understand the verdict. Still, admitting to providing alcohol to minors should result in a dismissal from the bar.
FWIW, a "continued without a finding" in an OUI car/boat counts as a conviction, even if Williams obeys the sentence and probation. If he gets an OUI 30 years from now, the boat case will be counted. Each new OUI results in additional punishment, the 3rd a felony. Still far too lenient on both, another liberal appointed during the RINO Weld-Cellucci years whose main qualification seems to be LGBTQ activism. No doubt there was some judge shopping on this, waiting for a sympathetic judge on the schedule, no jury.
Dismissal from the bar?
SPOILER ALERT
James McGill broke into his brother's house and only got suspended for a year.
Wishful thinking on my part, Will
I agree with you, he will probably only get a brief suspension but should be dismissed. We'll see what the civil suit reveals. I think I had a book in the academy, "The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Jail." Sad.
Should not be disbarred....
Insane comment......another one is "if you believe the story and police reports"...so basically, if we believe the facts/evidence in this case.
Hell of a job you did on this one.
Re Doug: Should not be disbarred....
Few, if any know the "facts" of what happened. Alcohol impaired witnesses and no video, so the police report is just a summary of what people told police after. Even if sober, eyewitness testimony is inherently questionable, especially when the lawyer and owner of the boat told everyone not talk to the police. Once, as a component of the police exam, Civil Service asked police candidates to study a picture for a few minutes, then answer questions about it. What time was on the clock? What color was the stolen car, etc.? Many of the answers were wildly different. .
If I recall, this was in early spring and water temperatures were not suitable for swimming, so I would definitely question the story. In the initial photo, she had two very black eyes like a boxer, but no cuts on the face from the propeller. Odd. I have some boating and ocean swimming experience and when an item that floats falls overboard (like the alleged Nerf football in this case), the operator swings around to grab it by hand or boat hook. A bunch of people don't normally jump into frigid water for a $3 football. Providing alcohol to minors is still despicable and he should be disbarred if there are any standards left at the BBO. We'll see.
Nothing to question re: his swimming story....
Whoever picked he and his friend up in a different boat already came out and said that they were nowhere near the boat at the time they were picked up.....so there goes that theory of yours.
I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure he invited a former intern of his (who was of age) out on the boat for the day, and the intern asked if he could bring some friends....which was fine obviously...and I guess some of those people were underage.
Nobody really asks anyone for ID's in a situation like that. Everyone probably should just to make absolutely sure, but I doubt anyone does.
what a joke
This woman's life has been forever changed by the accident, and a spoiled rich kid gets away with a CWOF. Both Urbelis and the guy fucking around with the throttle got off way too easy.
Your reading comprehension skills need some work...
.
Are you friends with the guy?
.
I know him....
We don't call each other to hang out, but I know him and a few others connected to the story.
Nobody is happy about what happened but the reporting/speculation I've seen from pretty
much every source is shoddy at best.
Even I...
Would cut the power if people are swimming around the boat.
ESPECIALLY DRUNK PEOPLE AT NIGHT!
Criminally negligent AT LEAST!
Wow
The real question is who was this guy's lawyer? That's who I want representing me if I ever have to face a DWI charge.
Naut Guilty
Jokes on him
He'll never be able to drive for Lyft of Uber with that ruling!