In this race for Middlesex District Attorney, few issues separate me from the incumbent DA more clearly than how we handle dangerous people in our community.
In Massachusetts, most defendants are—and should be—released before trial. But there has always been an exception for the most serious violent crimes. In those cases, prosecutors can ask a judge to hold someone without bail if they pose a clear danger to the public. It’s called a “dangerousness hearing.
This month, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that armed robbery does not qualify.
More than a week later, the incumbent District Attorney has still not said a word.
That silence matters—because this decision puts people at risk.
Armed robbery is not a minor offense. Our legislature made it punishable by up to life in prison for a reason: it so often leads to serious injury or death.
I’ve seen that reality firsthand, as a trial prosecutor in the murder trials of:
- Justin Cosby, killed during an armed robbery in Cambridge.
- Quintin Koehler, shot to death in an attempted armed robbery in Billerica.
- Luis and Hector Delgado, two brothers killed in their home in Lowell.
- Joseph Puopolo Jr., who survived combat in Afghanistan, only to be killed during an armed robbery in Stoneham.
Armed robbery is also behind dozens of unsolved murders across Middlesex County, including the 2013 killing of Marine Corps veteran Shawn Clark in Malden.
These are not edge cases. This is a pattern—and it’s getting worse.
In 2019, another court decision left dangerous gaps in our bail laws. Today, prosecutors can seek detention for marijuana trafficking—but not for crimes like cross-burning, bomb-making, or even aggravated rape of a child.
That same year, I asked the District Attorney to act. She didn’t.
Now armed robbery has been added to that list—and still, no response.
Reform is long overdue. Even the Boston Globe Editorial Board warned in 2024 that a “16-year-old Acton girl’s death was preventable.”
The question is whether the District Attorney is willing to fix it.
I will.
David Solet is the former Chief of the Cold Case Homicide Unit of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and a Democratic candidate for Middlesex District Attorney.
