Infant's father charged after Amber Alert set off
Allegedly vowed to kill son, self if anyone tried to take his child
CAMBRIDGE - An Arlington man who triggered an Amber Alert on Wednesday had vowed to kill his 6-month-old son, shoot five people, and then kill himself if anyone tried to take away the infant, a prosecutor said in court yesterday.
The infant, identified by Arlington police as Lucas Whalen, was in the temporary custody of a relative of his mother's, as the Department of Social Services and the courts decide who should take care of him.
The infant's father - Michael Whalen, 42 - was arraigned yesterday in Cambridge District Court, where he pleaded not guilty to parental kidnapping, threats, and receiving stolen property over $250. He was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail by Judge Roanne Sragow.
A DSS spokeswoman said yesterday that the agency is familiar with Whalen and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Danielle Boyle, having taken custody of two children the couple had earlier.
The two children were put up for adoption in 2005 and 2006 after courts extinguished the legal rights of both parents, said Alison Goodman, a spokeswoman for the child-protection agency.
DSS had had no recent contact with the couple until Boyle's relative sought temporary custody of the infant earlier this week. The agency did not provide any more details, including the ages of the children.
Whalen allegedly threatened to "shoot anyone who tries to take the baby from me, including myself and the baby," said Assistant Middlesex District Attorney Samir Zaganjori.
"There are five people on my hit list," Zaganjori quoted Whalen as saying. "The last bullet is for me."
From the bench and in court papers, Sragow said Whalen has 72 convictions since 1985, has skipped court 48 times, has been imprisoned 19 times, and was sent to prison eight times for violating probation.
The judge said he was convicted of drug offenses and assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, but his lawyer said the majority were convictions for traffic violations.
In papers filed in Middlesex Probate and Family Court, the relative identified herself as Sheila Boyle of Everett and said she feared for the infant's well-being. Boyle could not be reached for comment yesterday at her home or by telephone.
Appearing on her own, Sheila Boyle wrote in an affidavit that the parents had been squatters in their Arlington apartment after being evicted, they were using a stove to heat the house, and that drug activity was going on in the Massachusetts Avenue unit.
On April 29, Probate and Family Court Judge Peter C. DiGangi gave temporary custody to Sheila Boyle, but when Boyle went to get the boy, he could not be found, leading Arlington police to issue the Amber Alert Wednesday.
The couple's Arlington landlord, Walter Tauro, said in a telephone interview that he hired Whalen as an exterminator last December.
At the time, the couple and the infant were living in a rented truck, Tauro said.
"Like a fool, I gave him a chance," Tauro said in a telephone interview yesterday.
He said he let them move into the five-bedroom, one-bath unit that costs $2,200 a month until Jan. 1. Tauro said Whalen refused to move and trashed the apartment.
Whalen painted walls and hardwood floors black, got rid of the stove, and installed a washer in its place, which was allowed to leak water for an extended period of time because it was not connected to a drain, the landlord said.
In court, Whalen's lawyer, Benjamin B. Selman, argued unsuccessfully for $1,000 cash bail, saying a charge of parental kidnapping was not that serious and carried only a maximum of one year in the house of correction.
Selman also said that no law enforcement officer reported seeing Lucas with Whalen. "Nobody has even alleged that he ever had possession of the child," Selman said.
But Judge Sragow said that Whalen's criminal record justified the high cash bail.
Whalen is due back in court May 23.
No charges have been filed agaisnt Boyle, who was found carrying her son by Arlington police when she could not pay for a cab. She attended her boyfriend's court appearance, but would not talk with reporters.
"I just wish everybody would leave me alone," she said.
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