Court Report: Busy Jury Week Underway In Nantucket District Court
David Creed •
This Current Court Report includes arraignments and dispositions from this week's Nantucket District Court sessions on Monday and Tuesday. It is the court's October jury week, so cases will be heard and resolved through Friday.
Alyssa Ashley Arnold, 35, of Nantucket, was arraigned on a September 27 charge of assault and battery on a family/household member. She had a not-guilty plea entered on her behalf and was ordered to return to court November 3rd for a pretrial hearing.
Stoyan V. Atanasov, 37, of Nantucket was arraigned on Sept. 22 charges of assault and battery on a family/household member (six counts), strangulation, criminal harassment, and threatening to commit a crime. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court November 16 for a pretrial hearing. Atanasov is the island resident who was arraigned late last month on charges alleging he pulled a samurai sword on a woman during an assault. These new charges stem from an incident that occurred days prior to the samurai sword incident.
The alleged victim told police during a voluntary statement that Atanasov punched her in the stomach “systematically” and strangled her to the point “where she saw stars,” in addition to other forms of assault. He also allegedly told her, “if not here (in USA), he will have someone to cut my throat in Bulgaria.”
Between August 1st and September 23rd, Atanasov allegedly contacted the alleged victim via phone 17 to 21 times per day and would drive by her workplace approximately one time per hour while she was working.
On the new charges, bail was set at $5,000 cash. However, Atanasov had his bail revoked on the previous charges and remains in jail after being determined to be a danger to the community. He will remain in custody for up to 120 days or until a trial/plea deal is completed.
Alex Paulo Negrini Dos Santos, 35, of Nantucket, was arraigned on September 19th charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, failure to wear a seat belt, speeding, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court November 2nd for a pretrial hearing.
Skylar B. Jorgensen, 28, of Nantucket will have a May 31st charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol continued without a finding for one year on the condition he complete a driver alcohol education program, forfeit his license for 45 days, pay $600 in fees, and pay an amount in restitution to be determined at a November 3rd hearing. Charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, marked lanes violation, and possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle stemming from the same incident were dismissed.
Jorgensen is the man who was arrested for driving his truck through six panels of wooden fencing and approximately 75 yards of grass field before coming to a stop roughly a football field's length away from the roadway and was found by first responders unconscious in the driver's seat with a 750 mL bottle of gin underneath the seat.
Brendan Lafferty, 28, of Nantucket waived his right to a jury trial and his bench trial (before a judge only) is underway in which he is facing a negligent operation of a motor vehicle charge following an incident in the summer of 2024 where he allegedly struck island attorney Steve Cohen with his vehicle on Tom Nevers Road.
The trial is in its beginning stages, with just one witness testifying (NPD officer Seamus McArdle) before it was postponed to November 17th. It was revealed that Cohen remains in an off-island facility due to a spinal cord injury suffered during the accident. McArdle testified that approximately 10 items were on the truck’s dashboard and a side-view mirror and headlight were removed from the vehicle.
According to the police report, Lafferty told police that he was driving down the road when he suddenly heard a thump. He exited his vehicle, saw he had struck a pedestrian, and called 911. Police said they observed “various papers and books on the dashboard directly in front of the steering wheel impeding the visibility of the operator.”
Andrea M. Marelli, 34, of Nantucket will have charges of criminal harassment (10 counts from various dates in March) continued without a finding for one year on the condition she complete counseling and stay away and have no contact with the victims. She will also have two September 17th charges of violating a harassment prevention order continued without a finding for one year on the same conditions. She had been held in the Barnstable House of Corrections since mid-September but was released following the plea deal.
Bryan Michel Mejia Guzman, 19, of Nantucket was arraigned on July 4thcharges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, failing to file an accident report failure to drive in the right lane, and speeding. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court November 2nd for a pretrial hearing.
According to the police report, police were dispatched to the area of Russells Way and Wigwam Road, where they discovered the alleged victim to have a severe laceration on his left leg which required 47 stitches. It was determined to be an injury to his AC joint. The crash investigation revealed that the vehicle that struck the victim was traveling around 50 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour speed zone.
Police said the operator, later identified as Mejia, got out of his vehicle after hitting the biker before returning to it and fleeing the scene. NPD later identified Guzman as the operator through the car’s license plate, and Mejia stated in an interview later on that he “indeed hit him” referring to the victim. Police said Mejia did not report the accident and only told his mother and girlfriend. He also did not leave his name before leaving the scene, according to police.
Josue Samuel Melgar-Paz, 36, of Nantucket was arraigned on August 15th charges of assault and battery, assault and battery on a police officer, possessing a Class B drug, and resisting arrest. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court December 14th for a pretrial hearing.
According to the police report, Melgar-Paz was being arrested by NPD officers for domestic assault and battery and began attempting to break free, tensing his body, and swinging his arms. He allegedly proceeded to push a female officer over a bench and continued struggling with a male officer, who ultimately needed to deploy his taser.
Melgar-Paz was taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where police said he gave an officer multiple small plastic bags with a white powdery substance consistent with cocaine.
Emily Mitchell, 35, of Nantucket will have December 6th, 2024 charges of leaving the scene of personal injury and negligent operation of a motor vehicle continued without a finding for one year on the condition she complete a Brains at Risk course, complete 40 hours of community service, and pay $300 in fees. A crosswalk violation stemming from the same incident was dismissed.
Mitchell was alleged to have struck a pedestrian while driving down Main Street during Christmas Stroll weekend with her car mirror, and to have subsequently driven over his foot before driving away from the accident.
James Michael Occhiuto, 18, of Nantucket was arraigned on two September 19th charges of assault and battery. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court October 26th for a pretrial hearing.
Carlos Enrique Mora Ratia, 36, of Nantucket will have an August 24th charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol continued without a finding for one year on the condition he complete a driver alcohol education course, forfeit his license for 45 days, and pay $600 in fees. Charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and speeding stemming from the same incident were dismissed.
Daniel R. Simonds, 38, of Nantucket was arraigned on July 15th charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (second offense), a motor vehicle lights violation, a crosswalk violation, failure to stop for police, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, and resisting arrest. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court December 14thfor a pretrial hearing.
According to the police report, Simonds allegedly was pulled over by NPD officers after nearly striking two female passersby on a crosswalk in the area of Easy Street and Salem Street. Simonds allegedly had a sandwich in his mouth when a police officer approached the driver’s side window and engaged in minimal conversation, making it difficult to smell an odor of alcohol coming from his mouth, but when police returned a second time, they smelled the alcohol emanating from his breath.
After Simonds failed his field sobriety tests, police directed him to their cruiser. He allegedly said, “Are you about to arrest me? You are not going to arrest me right now” multiple times and stated, “there’s no f***ing way,” before running away from officers down the cobblestone roadways.
*All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty under a court of law*