LOWELL — A Lowell man accused of deliberately placing and killing a person who was on an electrical bicycle on Hillside Road roughly two months in the past will stay behind bars, regardless of his legal professional’s argument that the proof tying him to the crash is much from conclusive.
Tito Nuth, 36, charged with armed assault with intent to homicide for placing 42-year-old Eugene Phonchanh together with his SUV, was ordered held with out bail following a 58A dangerousness listening to in Lowell District Court docket on Oct. 16. Decide John Coffey dominated that Nuth poses a hazard to the neighborhood and ordered him detained for as much as 120 days because the case progresses.
The Middlesex District Legal professional’s Workplace anticipates extra costs towards Nuth after the Workplace of the Chief Medical Examiner completes its evaluation and determines the trigger and method of Phonchanh’s dying, in keeping with courtroom paperwork.
Legal professional Nicholas Gordon, who was employed by Nuth, mentioned the proof utilized by authorities doesn’t show that his consumer was the driving force of the SUV that struck Phonchanh on Hillside Road at about 2:45 p.m. Aug. 23.
In a cellphone name discussing the 58A listening to on Thursday, Gordon acknowledged the surveillance footage gathered by police throughout the investigation, including, “I can only speak for myself when I tell you that looking at that surveillance footage, I can not confidently say who the person in the footage is. It’s just not clear enough from my perspective.”
Whereas the Honda Pilot concerned within the deadly crash was decided to be registered to Nuth, Gordon mentioned that doesn’t show he was behind the wheel.
“It wouldn’t be the first time that a family member or a friend borrows a person’s car,” he mentioned.
Gordon described Nuth as “a gentleman who has no prior record” and is “gainfully employed,” working full-time as a pc programmer for a metallic fabricating firm. He mentioned he argued throughout the listening to that Nuth doesn’t pose a hazard to the neighborhood, however proposed that circumstances of launch — together with GPS monitoring and exclusion zones to stop contact with anybody concerned within the case — might deal with any considerations the courtroom may need.
In a movement supporting pretrial detention, nevertheless, prosecutors alleged that Nuth used his SUV as a weapon.
Middlesex Assistant District Legal professional Lindsay Pilot mentioned within the movement that surveillance footage from Hillside Road exhibits the automobile heading instantly towards Phonchanh and accelerating with out braking. No skid marks had been discovered on the scene, and witnesses reported no sounds of tires squealing — particulars Pilot mentioned “further indicates this to be a deliberate act of violence.”
A Lowell Police incident report written by a detective said that surveillance footage confirmed the suspect automobile “swerved toward the victim at a high rate of speed and did not attempt to slow down.”
The motive force then left the scene.
Gordon, who additionally reviewed the footage, mentioned on Thursday that he disagrees with the declare that the crash was intentional, calling it “not a very strong argument when you consider just how narrow that particular street is.” Hildreth Road is a brief residential highway within the Decrease Highlands that connects Bellevue and Temple streets.
“With parked cars as they were on the street, there’s barely enough room as it is for an SUV to drive down that road and I saw no indication of any swerving or anything that would indicate to me that there was any kind of intentional striking with the vehicle,” Gordon mentioned.
Emergency crews finally arrived in entrance of 19 Hillside St. to search out Phonchanh on the bottom, “wheezing and bleeding from the head,” in keeping with Pilot’s movement. The daddy of 1 was flown by medical helicopter to Lahey Hospital & Medical Heart in Burlington, the place he died the next morning.
Investigators tracked the SUV’s actions via neighborhood surveillance cameras, figuring out it by a misaligned entrance license plate and a particular purple and blue rear window sticker. Simply minutes after the crash, the automobile was seen parking on South Walker Road, the place a person recognized as Nuth exited and fled on foot. The SUV was later recovered on Robbins Road with harm to the entrance plate, grill, and undercarriage.
The case has stirred up questions amongst Phonchanh’s family members concerning the relationships surrounding these concerned. That features Chanra Phoeurk, a 45-year-old girl who has kids with Nuth and shares an deal with with him on Bellevue Avenue, in keeping with authorities.
Police mentioned Phoeurk was current on the scene of the crash and was seen holding Phonchanh’s belongings, together with a bloody crossbody bag, shortly after the crash. She later recognized Nuth and his automobile in surveillance photos.
In response to Pilot’s movement and police studies, Phoeurk informed authorities she was residing with Nuth to help with co-parenting their two kids. She additionally informed authorities she was associates with Phonchanh, who was homeless on the time, and claimed she didn’t know what he was doing previous to the crash. Phoeurk later informed investigators she had been upset with Phonchanh and had not seen him for a number of days, although the main points of what she was upset about weren’t revealed.
Phoeurk additionally offered a textual content message to authorities that Phonchanh had despatched her on the day of his dying that said, “I’m riding by in 5 minutes I’m going to make a play $300.”
However Phonchanh’s sister, Jennifer, mentioned in a cellphone interview that Phoeurk and her brother had been extra than simply associates and had been in a romantic relationship. She described what she noticed as a love triangle involving Phoeurk, Nuth, and her brother.
“She’s lying. Why would we make this stuff up?” Jennifer mentioned about Phoeurk. “She’s been with my brother on and off.”
Jennifer mentioned her brother cherished Phoeurk and that their relationship was no secret — one thing she mentioned the household shared with investigators.
Jennifer additionally introduced up a witness account claiming a handgun was seen on the bottom close to Phonchanh after he was struck. Nonetheless, as talked about within the police report, that weapon was by no means recovered.
“If there is surveillance footage, where is the gun?” Jennifer mentioned. “Couldn’t they see who picked it up in the video?”
On the scene of the crash, police mentioned in an incident report that they discovered 16 grams of methamphetamine inside a cigarette field, however no firearm or money.
An try by The Solar to contact Phoeurk via a cellphone quantity listed in courtroom paperwork was unsuccessful.
When requested concerning the alleged relationships described by Phonchanh’s sister, Gordon mentioned he was not made conscious of any such dynamic, and emphasised that prosecutors have but to determine a motive.
He added it’s an uncommon state of affairs that the District Legal professional’s Workplace has “not been in a position — whether through an initial police report or supplemental police report, or even by way of argument — to talk about what their theory of a motive is.”
“The record is completely silent as to that,” Gordon mentioned. “So, if there are other witnesses who are opining regarding a potential motive, it’s not something that’s contained in police reports, it’s not something that was argued to the district court judge in support of the motion to hold my client, and in my opinion — having done this every day for 23 years — that speaks volumes about the relative weakness of the case against Mr. Nuth.”
In the course of the Oct. 16 listening to, Pilot argued in her movement that Nuth “fled to Florida, despite having small children that he allegedly supports” after the crash. Court docket paperwork present he was picked up by legislation enforcement in Jacksonville and extradited again to Massachusetts. It was a element Pilot mentioned helps considerations about Nuth’s potential as a flight threat.
However Gordon mentioned his consumer was not fleeing. He mentioned on Thursday that Nuth visits household in Jacksonville not less than annually and had no information of the allegations towards him when he left.
“Had he known there was a warrant, he never would have went to Florida,” Gordon mentioned. “He would have turned himself in to the court and removed the warrant.”
In response to Gordon, Nuth is keen to clear his identify.
“This to me looks to be a tragic accident and we’ll let things play out within the four walls of the courtroom,” he mentioned.
Nuth is scheduled to return to courtroom on Nov. 7 for a pretrial convention.
Observe Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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