Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Nicolas Guaman, accused in the August 2011 killing of Matthew Denice, will get instruction from a Boston University law professor on the American legal system, and then another competency evaluation. The state prosecutor objected.
Nicolas Guaman, an Ecuadorian citizen who is accused in the 2011 killing of Milford motorcyclist Matthew Denice, will have instruction from a Boston University law professor in the American legal system. And after receiving this one-on-one education, he will be evaluated again by a forensic psychologist, to determine if he is competent to stand trial. The attorney for Guaman received permission from Superior Judge Janet Kenton-Walker on April 25 to hire both experts. The law professor will be paid $1,500, while the Hingham-based psychologist will receive $4,500, according to records in Worcester Superior Court. In April, Kenton-Walker ruled that Guaman is not competent to stand trial, but has the capacity to learn what he needs to know to …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
A status hearing in the Nicolas Guaman case has been scheduled for June 11.
WORCESTER — Prosecutors and defense attorneys will next meet on the Nicolas Guaman case in June, a two-month delay approved Thursday because the judge sitting on the competency case was not in court. Superior Judge Janet Kenton-Walker is presiding over the competency issue. This week, she ruled that Guaman, who is charged in the killing of motorcyclist Matthew Denice, was not competent to stand trial now, but could become competent with access to a qualified translator. Attorneys agreed to set a June 11 date for a status hearing. Guaman, 34, an Ecuadorian citizen, is charged with second-degree murder and numerous other felony counts. Milford Police arrested him on Aug. 20, 2011. Police say he was operating a Ford F-150 that struck Denice …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
A Superior Court judge has found Nicolas Guaman cannot be tried now, but can overcome his 'competency deficits.'
WORCESTER — A Superior Court judge has determined Nicolas Dutan Guaman is not competent to be tried at this time, but has the capacity to understand his case and work with attorneys with the help of the correct interpreter. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said Guaman does not have a mental defect or illness, and can learn what he needs to know with the assistance of a qualified, Quechua interpreter. She ordered attorneys to hire a qualified interpreter who speaks his indigenous language, who can work with him on the case. Kenton-Walker ordered the issue of competency revisited in 60 days, in an order dated Monday and released Wednesday. Guaman is charged with second-degree murder and several other felony offenses in the August 2011 death of …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A Superior Court judge has not yet decided whether Nicolas Guaman is competent to face a trial in the death of Matthew Denice.
WORCESTER — A Superior Court judge has not yet decided whether Nicolas Guaman is competent to stand trial. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said the issue is still under advisement. The next scheduled court date on the competency issue is March 28, but she could issue her decision at any time. The family of Matthew Denice attended the court session Tuesday, and said the length of the trial process is difficult, but they want Guaman to face the maximum sentence. Denice, 23, a recent graduate of Framingham State University, was killed on Aug. 20, 2011 after the motorcycle he was riding was struck on Congress Street in Milford. Police have charged Nicolas Guaman, 36, with operating the motor vehicle, and then failing to stop once he hit Denice, who …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Nicolas Guaman, the Ecuadorian man who is charged in the death of motorcyclist Matthew Denice, sought treatment in 2005 for a head injury. Two doctors testifying as to Guaman's competency had differing interpretations of his injury.
Nicolas Guaman, an Ecuadorian laborer who is facing multiple charges in the death of Milford resident Matthew Denice, fell two stories from a roof in 2005, sustaining a head injury. Has this injury had a lasting impact? Two doctors who testified Tuesday, in a competency hearing to determine if Guaman should be tried in the case, drew different conclusions from the same medical records. The medical records are not a public record. But the testimony of the doctors and questioning by attorneys were made in Worcester Superior Court, making public for the first time some of the details of Guaman's injury, and whether the two doctors assigned to evaluate his competency think it is relevant. Guaman, now 35, according to the testimony, sought …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Ending four hours of testimony, a Superior Court judge said she will consider the evidence and decide whether Ecuadorian laborer Nicolas Guaman is competent to face trial on charges including second-degree murder.
WORCESTER — Superior Judge Janet Kenton-Walker has taken under advisement often-conflicting testimony from two doctors about whether Nicolas Dutan Guaman is competent to be tried on charges including second degree murder. The hearing began Tuesday with testimony from state-appointed psychologist Hanya Bluestone, who said she found Guaman, an Ecuadorian citizen, has gaps in his knowledge of the U.S. court process. But Bluestone reported that it was difficult for her to determine whether those gaps exist because he didn't understand the concept, or was unwilling to speak about it. Questions asked of the defendant included whether he understood the function of a judge, or the purpose of witnesses in a case. When Guaman would say, "I don't …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
A competency hearing to determine if Nicolas Guaman understands the charges against him, and his case, rescheduled several times, is expected to begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
The competency hearing for Nicolas Guaman is expected to begin at 11 a.m Tuesday at Worcester Superior Court. The hearing has been rescheduled several times over the last several months. Original Post: WORCESTER — A competency hearing for Nicolas Guaman, an Ecuadorian man charged in the death of Milford resident Matthew Denice, was postponed Tuesday because the available interpreter could not speak Quichua, the defendant's primary language. Quichua is an indigenous language of Ecuador, and Massachusetts has just one interpreter who speaks it fluently and works for the courts, according to a defense attorney. The interpreter available Tuesday was Bolivian, and had a dialect the defendant could not understand, according to Superior Judge …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
A competency hearing for Nicolas Dutan Guaman has been continued to Jan. 8, 2013.
Scheduling conflicts at Worcester Superior Court have prompted another delay in the competency hearing for Nicolas Dutan Guaman. Guaman is charged in the 2011 death of Milford resident Matthew Denice. Guaman faces charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while driving a motor vehicle, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene after a collision causing death. His competency to stand trial has been questioned by a medical expert hired by his attorneys, Peter Ettenberg and Stuart Hurowitz. The medical expert hired by defense attorneys has found Guaman is not competent, and turned in a report describing that finding. Another medical expert, appointed by the court, did not find him not competent, according to attorneys. Superior …
Friday, October 19, 2012
A hearing will be scheduled in Worcester Superior Court this month to determine whether Nicolas Dutan Guaman is competent to stand trial for the death of Matthew Denice.
A Worcester Superior Court judge will decide whether Nicolas Dutan Guaman is mentally competent to be tried for the death of Matthew Denice, a motorcyclist who police say was killed after the defendant struck, then dragged him, with a pickup truck. One medical expert hired by defense attorneys has found Guaman is not competent, and turned in a report describing that finding. Another medical expert, appointed by the court, did not find him incompetent. Judge James Lemire has ordered a competency hearing, in which experts will testify as to whether Guaman, a 35-year-old laborer, understands the case against him, and meets other criteria for competency. The hearing will be scheduled on Oct. 25. According to an order from Lemire, the legal …
Ed Bertorelli
1:05 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
well it seems to me that he is getting 'special treatment' I very much doubt that you or I or most readers would be afforded this type of treatment on the public dole....if we were financially capable we would be spending tens of thousands of dollars for a defense like this.....I guess I am struck by the inertia of the state's prosecution...does not bode well more ›