Judge rules blood test can be used in case against Julian Pellegrino

The trial date of the Springfield man accused of driving while under the influence of drugs has been postponed until Sept. 7. The trial had been scheduled to begin next month in Hampden Superior Court.

The Republican file photo | Don TreegerJulian Pellegrino at previous court appearance

SPRINGFIELD – A Hampden Superior Court judge has ruled against Julian Pellegrino, who attempted to have results of a blood test thrown out as evidence in a case charging he drove under the influence of drugs.

The charge against Pellegrino also says he caused serious injury while driving under the influence of drugs.

Pellegrino, 41, of 29 Savoy Ave., filed the motion seeking to have results of the blood test thrown out as evidence saying the results came were obtained illegally.

Judge Cornelius Moriarty II said there is no indication the blood was drawn at the direction of the police, so it is not an illegal search and seizure.

Moriarty II said Pellegrino was taken to Baystate Medical Center after the crash and asked by police to take a breathalyzer and/or blood withdrawal. Pellegrino refused.

He lapsed into unconsciousness. Several vials of blood were taken by medical personnel, Moriarty said. The judge said the “intrinsic protocol” of the hospital is for blood samples to be destroyed within seven days.

Moriarty said within that period Chicopee police asked the hospital to retain the samples. Police then got a search warrant authorizing seizure of the blood samples.

The head-on crash which led to Hampden Superior Court indictment occurred on Dec. 30, 2009, at 2:20 p.m. when Pellegrino, driving a 2004 Ford truck eastbound on Granby Road, crossed the line into the westbound lane.

He hit a 1998 Honda driven by 26-year-old Mark A. Costa, of Chicopee, police said.

Both drivers were taken to Baystate Medical Center. Costa suffered two broken legs.

Raipher D. Pellegrino, Julian Pellegrino’s lawyer as well as his brother, said in the motion filed last month blood was taken and kept by Baystate Medical Center “against the express instructions” and without the consent of his client.

Pellegrino’s case was scheduled for trial July 14 but has been postponed to Sept. 7. He has been free on his own recognizance.

Commonwealth vs. Julian Pellegrino: Memorandum of Decision and Order on Defendant’s Motion To Suppress

File photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanJulian Pellegrino, of Springfield, who was arraigned in Hampen Superior Court Wednesday on a charge of causing serious injury to Mark Costa of Chicopee when he was operating a car under the influence of drugs, is seen in Chicopee District Court in 2007 in an unrelated case.