By Julie Manganis
PEABODY ¬— The Lynn man charged with firing several gunshots into the back of a car on Hardy Street earlier this month was unapologetic after his arrest, police say.
Hector Batista, 19, taunted Peabody officers, using a derogatory term, then complained, "What happened to the investigation of my girl's crib getting shot up?" according to a report by Detective Stephanie Lane.
Batista said the Elm Street home of his girlfriend had been shot at twice, once in August and once on Nov. 1, but police were doing nothing to solve the case.
Lane asked if Batista knew there was a suspect.
"Yup, I did, and you cops did nothing, so I took it out of your hands and put it in my hands," he allegedly told the detective shortly after his arrest on Nov. 4.
Batista is facing three counts of attempted murder, as well as assault and battery, firearms, and drug charges in the incident, which occurred near the home of his alleged target, a Peabody man who had once dated Batista's girlfriend.
During a hearing yesterday on whether Batista poses a danger if released, his lawyer tried to suggest that the target had a motive to finger Batista as the shooter.
Defense lawyer Sierra Rosen questioned why the target of the shooting at first told police he didn't know the person who shot him and initially described him as black (Batista is Hispanic). The target later identified Batista.
But Rosen's line of questioning was cut short when prosecutor Matthew Hemond objected, on the grounds that the issue was not relevant during a dangerousness hearing.
Judge James O'Leary agreed, cutting off Rosen and accusing her of fishing for grounds for a future motion to suppress evidence. When Rosen protested, arguing that the information was relevant, O'Leary told her to read the police reports again and then walked off the bench.
When the judge returned about 45 minutes later, Rosen asked Peabody police Detective David Murphy about the investigation into the shootings on Elm Street, again drawing objections as to relevance.
Hemond, in his closing, argued that there is strong evidence against Batista, including his own statements. He noted that Lynn police found a .38-caliber handgun in Batista's pocket after his arrest, corresponding with the shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, and that he matches the description given by the other two people in the car that was shot.
"Basically, he admits he was the one who did it," Hemond argued. "Here's an individual taking the law into his own hands in retaliation" against the man who he suspected had shot at his girlfriend's home.
Rosen argued that Batista's statements could also be references to the handgun he had on him, and not the shooting, because he didn't know when he talked with police that he was being charged in a shooting, only with illegal possession of the gun.
"It's not clear he knew he was being charged in the shooting," said Rosen, who went on to argue "there are some serious questions about this case."
This time, O'Leary saw her point of view, at least with regard to the lack of a ballistics and gun residue test. The judge said he wants the results of those tests, which should be complete early next month, before he makes a final determination of dangerousness.
The judge ordered that Batista — who is also being held on a series of probation violation complaints in four courts — remain held in custody without bail pending the conclusion of those tests and a further hearing.
That hearing is now scheduled for Dec. 22.
