Dedham Man's First-Degree Murder Trial Set for December
Attorneys agreed to a December trial date for Paul Moccia, and a February date for his alleged co-conspirator, Daniel Bradley.
A Dedham man facing first-degree murder charges in the 2009 killing of a Framingham man is set to go on trial Dec. 5.
Lawyers for Paul Moccia and the prosecution in the case agreed on the December date Thursday in Norfolk County Superior Court, the fifth time Moccia has received a trial date.
"We're going. We've been ready before, but things have come up," said Steven Boozang, Moccia's attorney.
Dressed in a white cotton T-shirt and green cotton pants, Moccia shook his head as lawyers set the date.
Moccia is accused of murdering 37-year-old Angel Antonio Ramirez with co-conspirator Daniel Bradley, of Westwood. The two high school friends had their cases severed in May, causing a delay for the start of the trial.
Another delay occurred in April at a final pre-trial hearing when defense lawyers unearthed a trove of police notes they had yet to receive. At that time, a trial was just weeks away.
Prosecutors allege Moccia and Bradley shot and killed Ramirez on March 20, 2009, then dismembered and disposed of Ramirez's body at a concrete plant in Walpole.
According to court records, Moccia owed approximately $70,000 in drug money to Ramirez, who allegedly often shipped large quantities of cocaine from the West Coast.
Bradley's trial date was set for Feb. 6, 2012.
Both men have been incarcerated since their arrest in June 2009, however Bradley's attorney, Kevin Reddington, will ask a Norfolk County judge to let his client out on bail under house arrest at a scheduled hearing on Tuesday.
"Judge [Kenneth] Fishman seemed, from the bench, to indicate that he was inclined to grant bail to Mr. Bradley," Reddington argued Thursday, "especially due to the length of time that has gone by and the anticipated period of time before trial."