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Man who confessed to hiding drugs in child's shoe is 'taking the fall', attorney says

Print Posted by Martin Finucane November 16, 2010 02:01 PM

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By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

The Roxbury man who allegedly confessed he stashed crack cocaine in the shoe of a three-year-old girl is "taking the fall'' for someone else, his attorney said today.

Demare Gary pleaded not guilty in Roxbury Municipal Court to child endangerment and drug trafficking charges. Judge Shannon Frisson set bail for the 19-year old at $2,000 cash.

According to a Boston police report, a 3-year-old girl complained to staffers at a Roxbury Head Start program on Monday that one of her shoes hurt. When staffers took the shoe off, they found 17 bags of crack cocaine, police said.

Police tracked down family members of the girl, including Gary, who allegedly told police the crack cocaine was his. "I was the one who placed the drugs inside the shoe last night,'' Gary is quoted by police as telling them. "And I forgot about it.''

But his attorney, Lauren Craig Redmond, today dismissed the alleged confession.

"He's a young man,'' she said. "Most likely, he is taking the fall for somebody. …They have no proof.''

In the police report, the child is quoted as saying, "My mommy put it in my shoes and said it was candy.''

Craig Redmond said the child's statement is what Suffolk prosecutors and police should be focusing on, not Gary's spontaneous admission.

"What is clear is the child is the person who knows more than anybody else,'' Craig Redmond said. "The child knows better than the cops, the child knows better than the teachers. And the child clearly said that someone who was not Mr. Gary.''

Craig Redmond said the mother has two children, the 3-year-old girl, and an infant. Gary is the infant's father, the lawyer said.

"I feel very confident that as we go through the process, Mr. Gary will be acquitted,'' Craig Redmond said. "Or (Suffolk prosecutors) will see the reality here -- that most likely, he is taking the fall for somebody.''