BOSTON Daniel Prunty, who was sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of killing a man in his own Sandwich home, was denied a new trial last week by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
A jury in Barnstable Superior Court convicted Prunty on Feb. 15, 2006. The jury found Prunty, who was 46 at the time, guilty of first-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and attempted extortion.
The latter two charges stem from a confrontation before the 2004 shooting when Prunty pointed a .22-caliber rifle at 23-year-old Hyannis resident Jason Wells head and threatened the younger man that he would not live to “see another sunset” unless he returned stolen jewels.
A request for a new trial for a Sandwich man convicted of murder has been denied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Daniel Prunty, 61, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Jason Wells, a 23-year-old Hyannis man, in 2004. Mr. Prunty was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and attempted extortion by a Barnstable Superior Court jury on February 15, 2006.
The request for a new trial was made on February 14 and was denied on February 26. The order states that no new evidence has come to light which would necessitate a new trial. The decision is signed by Justice Elspeth B. Cypher.
BARNSTABLE Two neighbors of the planned Cloverleaf affordable housing project in Truro have appealed the town’s approval of the 39-unit complex and asked a judge to modify or annul the Zoning Board of Appeals decision.
Lauren Anderson and Helen Torelli Thursday filed a lawsuit in Barnstable Superior Court against Cloverleaf developer Community Housing Resource and the members of the Truro Zoning Board of Appeals. The two argue that the board’s decision to approve an “unproven” septic treatment system and waive some local health regulations “fails to protect the quality of ground waters and threatens contamination of private wells” near the project, according to the lawsuit.
BARNSTABLE The court case for a teacher accused of sexually assaulting two first graders has been paused as a state Supreme Judicial Court justice presides over whether a social worker for one of the victims can be deposed on privileged therapy records.
The Barnstable Superior Court case against Noah Campbell-Halley, a former computer technology teacher at Stony Brook Elementary in Brewster, was stayed late last month as the attorney for one of the victims and the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office appealed a judge’s decision to allow the defense to depose Jill Sayward, who was a therapist for one of the children.