Ilya Ablavsky, 32, is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of larceny and tampering with a record to be used in an official proceeding, the Boston Globe reports. A story in the Salem News says Ablavsky claims to be the murder suspect’s cousin, while the Globe says he claims to be an acquaintance of the cousin.
Ablavsky’s alleged plot was revealed by the defense lawyer in the case, Jeffrey Karp of Boston. According to court documents cited by the Salem News, Ablavsky contacted Karp and told him he had done some research and learned that the state can’t try the case without the original indictment.
In a brief court appearance Friday, Ablavsky’s court-appointed lawyer said his client had made "some statements that are totally off the wall,” the Salem News says. Arraignment was delayed until today to allow time for a mental evaluation.
Ablavsky attended the Western New England College School of Law, according to his LinkedIn profile, and received his law license in June despite a prior criminal record. He served five years on probation for making e-mail bomb threats in 1999, the stories say. Ablavsky was accused of making the threats against a state representative he unsuccessfully opposed in a Waltham mayoral race.