Moriarty agreed that the change sounds more “sinister” than the conduct of which Morse is charged. He took Jennings’ request under advisement.
Steven J. Morse appearing in Hampshire District Court in Dec. 2010.NORTHAMPTON – The lawyer for a Westfield man accused of killing a 10-year-old boy with a motor boat pleaded innocent to new charges on his client’s behalf Monday and asked the judge to amend one of them to more accurately reflect the crime he’s accused of committing.
Judge Cornelius J. Moriarty III waived the appearance of Steven J. Morse in Hampshire Superior Court at the request of defense lawyer Michael O. Jennings. Morse, 37, of 65 Deborah Lane, is accused of killing Augustus Adamopoulos, 10, on Norwich Lake in Huntington last August. The boy and his father, James Adamopoulos, were kayaking on the lake when they were struck by the motor boat.
Agustus "Gus" Adamopoulos was a precocious basketball player.Last December, Morse pleaded innocent to manslaughter, homicide by vessel and homicide by vessel while under the influence of alcohol. In July, a Hampshire County grand jury indicted him on three additional counts of child endangerment while under the influence of alcohol and single counts of reckless operation of a boat under the influence of alcohol and intimidating a witness. According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s office, the reckless endangerment charges pertain to three boys under the age of 14, two of whom were passengers in the boat operated by Morse. The third boy was being pulled by the boat on water skis, according to prosecutors.
After entering the pleas, Jennings told Moriarty that the intimidating a witness charge is misleading and asked that it be reworded. According to Jennings, the charge covers a range of conduct, including the willful misleading of a witness or potential witness, which he said is the proper description in this case. Prosecutor Steven Gagne agreed that the charge involves the alleged misleading of a police officer, but said he does not believe it necessary to change the language on the indictment.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s really not a big deal,” he said.
Jennings differed.
“It is a big deal to the person who’s being accused,” he told Moriarty.
Moriarty agreed that the change sounds more “sinister” than the conduct of which Morse is charged. He took Jennings’ request under advisement.
Adamopoulos’ death stunned his home town, especially the basketball community, where he was known as an avid player. Veterans Park Elementary School in Ludlow, which Adamopoulos attended, held a fund-raiser to dedicate a bench in his honor at the school’s basketball court.
At the request of Jennings, Moriarty extended a series of court dates for about a month. A pretrial hearing is now scheduled for Oct. 3. The case is due to go to trial in January, 2012.