One year later, Kerns case crawling forward:
This is basically just the local media report of what I told you about yesterday.
I still don’t see how Joe Nee can be considered a reliable informant when he was arrested for the exact same crime that Tobin Kerns was.
I still say it reeks of preferential treatment.
Back in August, I told you that the attorney for Tobin Kerns, William McElligott, was trying to get the search warrant of Kerns’ house suppressed because the police informants were not reliable. One of those informants, Joe Nee, was also arrested for the same plot.
If you remember, Kerns was arrested in conjunction with a plot to commit a Columbine-like assault on Marshfield High in Mass. Well, I heard from someone close to the case today, who said that the Judge has ruled the search warrant as admissible.
This hasn’t made the media yet, and according to the person who gave me the information, it’s unlikely that it will. Anyway, in my opinion, this ruling stinks. Outside of the arrest of Joe Nee, it still seems like he is receiving preferential treatment since he’s the son of a Boston cop. A pre-trial date has been set for September 27th.
Kerns, Nee trials won’t start until fall:
This just basically an article about the Marshfield incident that says that neither Toby Kerns nor Joe Nee will be going to trial until the fall. What was interesting about this article was this…
Kerns was in Plymouth Juvenile Court last week where his attorney William McElligott argued the search warrant Marshfield Police procured to search Kerns’ home and computer was invalid because they obtained it based on information from three confidential informants who did not meet accepted court standards. Court documents have since revealed that Nee was one of those informants, as were two other Marshfield teens, Dan Farley and Joe Sullivan.
McElligott argued that police had no reason to believe the three teens since they had not proven themselves as reliable informants in the past.
Judge Louis Coffin said he would rule on the motion on September 12th. Hopefully, he will rule in favor of Kerns. To refresh yourself on the Marshfield case, go here.
Tobin Kerns’ attorney, William McElligott, said that he is going to file a motion to suppress evidence taken from the Kerns’ home. His argument is that the search warrant was obtained on information from Joseph Nee who is now a co-defendant. From the article…
McElligott said he will seek to nullify the search warrant Marshfield police obtained for their search of Kerns’ home. Search warrants should be based on the statements of an ‘‘informant who is reliable,” he said.
While I think this is great news for Toby, I can’t help but ask, wouldn’t this also mean that evidence seized couldn’t be used against Joe Nee either?
Mr. McElligott is also looking into Joe Nee’s “no criminal record” by looking into an alleged assault at a skate park where no charges were filed against Nee, but the victim required medical treatment. He is also looking into the police histories of Daniel Farley and Joseph Sullivan, two teens who will testify as witnesses, but some say are also involved.
UPDATE: According to this article, Nee’s attorney, the always amusing and perverted cop defender Thomas Drechsler, plans to file for a change of venue. He says the media coverage would make it impossible to find a partial jury in Plymouth County.
The mail has been piling up here, and I’ve been putting it off for so long I’m now two weeks behind on it. I’m in the middle of posting my replies, but it’s probably going to take me all week to finish up.
However, I got a comment today that I felt required my immediate attention. For those of you that have been following the events in Marshfield, Mass. you’ll know that I’ve been saying that I’ve gotten a ton of responses in support of Tobin Kerns but none for Joe Nee. Well, that changed today. I got a comment from someone claiming to be a relative of Nee on my “Lost Boys” entry…
It’s really to bad that when something like this happens people are really quick to point fingers. All the boys are just as responsible for all that happened. Joe Nee is not the ringleader he’s an easy target for angry parents. What you should really be doing is thanking him for preventing disaster. Toby might say he was going to tell but he didn’t Joe did. Joe is such an easy target because of who his father is and his problems. We should be just as angry with all the other boys. They cant possibly be such angels if they were at all involved in this. So what i’m trying to say is Joe is a kind-hearted kid who made a stupid choice he along with his friends will pay for it. I highly doubt this was all Joes’ idea. And just so everyone who reads this knows Joes family is great, as any family with a troubled kid has they have made mistakes but they still remain some of the nicest caring people I have ever met. Thank You —April (Joes cousin) we all make mistakes some bigger than others nobodies perfect!!!!
Comment by april Nee — Sunday Jan 30, 2005 @ 10:34 am
My opinions on Joe Nee have been well documented on this site, so in the interest of fairness I am going to refrain from commenting on this except for saying this is the first time since Joe Nee’s arrest that one of his supporters has commented. I had someone on my site defending Tobin Kerns within a week of his arrest.
Teen held in massacre plot freed on bail to parents:
These are two more articles on Joe Nee’s release, and it seems like to be the Massachusetts media is starting to side with Joe Nee. So let me reiterate my opinions on the matter.
His father, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association Tom Nee, threw Joe Nee out of his house. Kids aren’t usually thrown out of the house for being good kids.
Joe Nee was the one who wore a homemade shirt with the date of the Columbine massacre and “Remember the Heroes” written on it in German to school several times. Nee also dressed as Eric Harris for one Halloween.
Joe Nee was the one who was witnessed bringing a gun to school. Whether or not the witness could tell whether the gun was real or not is irrelevant. If the gun looked real, the only other way to tell it’s real is if it’s being fired. Luckily, that didn’t happen.
In my opinion, Joe Nee turned in Toby Kerns to cover his own ass before Toby could turn him in.
Just because he’s a cop’s son doesn’t automatically make him an upstanding citizen. According to previous reports, the reason Joe Nee was thrown out of his house was that he assaulted his own father.
After the Kernses took Joe Nee in, it was in Nee’s room where the plans were found and where Nee had placed a giant swastika on the wall.
And like I’ve said many times before, when this story first broke, and I was being pretty rough on the Kernses, a number of people from the Marshfield area came to his defense. And again, I have yet to get one comment or e-mail in defense of Nee. I think that speaks volumes.
I just hope that the jury can see through the diversionary tactics that Nee’s attorney is using.
For those of you who have been following the Marshfield saga along with me, Joe Nee was released on $20,000 bail today…
Nee Free on $20,000 Cash Bail
The second suspect in the alleged plot to commit murder at Marshfield High School is out on bail.
The parents of 18-year-old Joseph Nee posted the 20-thousand cash bail at the Brockton Superior Court Clerk’s office shortly after Judge Suzanne Delvecchio set the bail. Nee’s father Tom says he is happy to have his son free, especially since the boy’s grandfather is near death. Defense attorney Tom Dreschler argued that circumstances have changed involving his client. He cited the fact that Nee’s co-defendant Toby Kerns is free on bail and that Kern’s has a lengthy juvenile record. Judge Delvecchio says the fact that Kerns is out on bail was one reason she set bail on Nee. The judge also ordered that Nee’s release be based on conditions set by the probation department.
As usual, Nee’s attorney, Tom Dreschler, has been trying to deflect blame away from his client by citing that Toby Kerns has a criminal record.
I find the term “lengthy” to be a bit overdramatic. As I said before, one does not have to have a criminal record to be a criminal. How many of us know someone who had a relative in an authoritative position that allowed them to escape any kind of punishment?
Toby Kerns didn’t have that luxury. Who’s to say that Joe Nee’s criminal record might have been more sordid than Toby Kerns’ if his father wasn’t a Boston cop? Also, like I mentioned the other day, the witness who said she saw Joe Nee bring a gun to school changed her testimony and said she didn’t know if it was real or not. It seems very suspicious to me.
Marshfield student was expelled before:
Joe Nee’s lawyer, Thomas Drechsler, is pulling out all the stops in trying to make Toby Kerns look as bad as possible in order to get his client released. Dreschler made public that Kerns was expelled from a school in Washington State for threatening to shoot a classmate even though that local authorities in Washington concluded that Kerns ”was not an imminent threat” to the girl, but that ”he definitely needed counseling and supervision.” He apologized to the girl, her parents, police, and the school.
Nee’s lawyer, Thomas Drechsler, argued yesterday that it was unfair to keep Nee jailed without bail while allowing Kerns to roam free. Unlike Kerns, who was on probation when he was arrested in September, Nee has no prior criminal record.
Which is all well and good, but Joe Nee was the one wore a homemade shirt with the date of the Columbine massacre and “Remember the Heroes” – a reference to Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris and dressed as Harris for Halloween at school. Not to mention, the only reason Joe Nee may not have a criminal record is that any time he may have been picked up he might have said: “my dad is the head of the Boston Police union”.
But what’s scary is this…
A judge agreed yesterday to schedule a hearing Tuesday on Drechsler’s contention that Nee should be freed on bail because of new evidence he received that raises questions about the strength of the case.
That evidence, he said, includes information that a girl who told police that she saw Nee carrying a gun on a school bus last June testified before a grand jury last fall that she wasn’t sure if it was real. And a student who is a key witness against Nee had previously committed crimes with Kerns, Drechsler said, adding that the revelation raises questions about the witness’s credibility.
Let’s hope a judge can see past Toby’s past problems and realize that just because someone doesn’t have a criminal record doesn’t mean they can’t be a criminal.
And as a side note, I’m still waiting for someone to send me an e-mail or a comment in defense of Joe Nee.
This is another article about how Toby Kerns is adjusting to life at home again. What struck me about this particular article was the quote about Joe Nee’s family…
Joe Nee’s family has chosen not to speak to the press, but Nee’s lawyer has argued that Nee is a hero for turning in Kerns and that Nee was arrested only after witnesses “came out of the woodwork” because the police went public with the investigation.
That is eerily reminiscent of the parents of Eric Harris, who have refused to talk to the press.
Just an observation.
Toby Kerns released on $20,000 bail:
Toby Kerns has been released on $20,000 bail. Prosecutors argued the bail should be set at $1 million cash due to the severity of the charges, but luckily, Juvenile Court Judge Louis Coffin did not agree.
The article also states that Kern’s attorney William McElligott believes the Marshfield Police are withholding evidence that the defense is entitled to see. Considering the other suspect is the son of a cop, this comes off as very suspicious.
What doesn’t look good is that the Assistant District Attorney John McLaughlin said the maps found in Toby’s home were analyzed by the state crime lab, and it was determined they were in Toby’s handwriting. However, William McElligott said the tests on the maps and other written material, including the hit list, have been inconclusive.
For now, Toby will not be returning to school and will be more or less homeschooled. I guess that would be in Toby’s best interest as well. Could you imagine how much he would be harassed in school, even if his involvement in the plot was little to none? Unfortunately, that’s the nature of high school.
Enjoy your pancakes, Toby.