Acton's Bedford Brothers Held Without Bail

The case of Acton's , Ryan, 23, and Matthew, 20, who have both been charged with the attempted murder of Frank Dalli, 35, also of Acton, took an interesting turn yesterday morning.

A bail hearing was held for the brothers at the Concord District Court Tuesday. After testimonies from two Acton police officers, Ryan's and Matthew's parents, a parole officer, the prosecutor and the defense, the judge deemed the two defendants to be unsafe for the community and ruled that they be held without bail. Their pretrial is set for June 11.

Hakeem?

William and Kim Bedford, parents of Ryan and Matthew, both took the stand to say that the third suspect who was involved in the stabbing of , who is still unnamed at this time and is being described as a tall black man with dreadlocks in his early 20s, reached out to them and told them that it was he who stabbed Dalli that night.

Currently, Ryan Bedford is charged with stabbing Dalli.

According to the parents, Hakeem (last name was not given), a friend of Ryan and Matthew, reached out to the Bedfords on Saturday to tell his story.

According to both parents, Hakeem had a third party contact William and arrange for the three of them to meet. Both parents picked up Hakeem at a River Street address in Acton and drove to the on Saturday. During the drive, Hakeem told both parents that Dalli attacked Ryan in the parking lot of the Bowladrome. According to Hakeem, Ryan was punched several times and kicked in the groin by Dalli. It was at this point when Matthew and Hakeem went to help Ryan and Hakeem said he stabbed Dalli because it appeared that Dalli had a knife in his pocket that he was going to use on Ryan.

After telling this story to the Bedford parents, they say, Hakeem said he wanted to ‘do the right thing’ and turn himself in to the police but he was afraid because he has a ‘past record with the police.’ Hakeem told them that he would go to the police if he had a lawyer; the Bedfords said they would assist him with finding one. The three of them agreed that William Bedford would pick up Hakeem Sunday morning and bring him to the Acton Police Station. But Hakeem never called the Bedfords back the next morning; he was nowhere to be found.

Kim Bedford told the court that her decision to not provide Acton Police with her newfound information may have been, in retrospect, ‘foolish.' 

Previous altercation between Ryan and Frank:

According to Frank Dalli, a month prior to the stabbing there was an altercation between Dalli and Ryan Bedford at the . Dalli went outside to break up a fight between his girlfriend and another girl and Ryan hit Dalli in the back of the head. According to Kim Bedford, Ryan came home that night with no shirt and a black eye; there has been bad blood between the two men ever since.

This incident was filed in an Acton police report.

The Bedford brothers' past run-ins with the law:

The prosecutor brought up the fact that Ryan and Matthew have had their fair share of run-ins with the law and trouble with alcoholism. The prosecutor had Concord District Court Parole Officer Sandra McNabb take the stand. She has worked with the Bedford brothers in various cases and said the parents have been difficult to deal with over the years; she thought it would be unwise to have both boys out on bail, at home and under their parents' supervision.

Witnesses:

Acton Police Detective Kevin Heffernan took the stand and explained that one of the witnesses who was at the Bowladrome that night picked out both Ryan and Matthew Bedford during a photo array exercise at the police station as two of the three involved in the altercation. This witness also reported hearing one of the Bedford brothers say something about having a knife and being on probation that night at the Bowladrome.

Frank Dalli’s girlfriend, who works at the Bowladrome did not witness the actual altercation but identified Ryan, Matthew and the third suspect as being present at the Bowladrome Wednesday night.

Officer Dean Keeler, who arrived on-scene shortly after the altercation, spoke with Dalli, who was outside the Bowladrome in the parking lot holding wads of paper towels over a bloody stab wound near his ribs. Officer Keeler spoke with Dalli at the scene and later that night at the hospital about his side of the story. Dalli said he recognized the Bedford brothers but not the third subject. Dalli said he was approached by the three suspects and was hit from behind and stabbed by Ryan.

The Knife:

According to Officer Keeler, the knife was found in the parking lot in two pieces (the blade was detached from the grip).

The Bowladrome Camera Surveillance:

According to Keeler, there are surveillance cameras set up inside the Bowladrome; it was unclear if there also are outdoor cameras. Keeler said when he went to view the tapes there were technical difficulties. The defense pointed out that once the tapes are made available it would show how Dalli’s behavior towards Ryan before the incident was aggressive. He also said he was sure it would reveal that Ryan did not stab Dalli.

The 911 call:

The prosecutor played the 911 call that was made that night and the woman who made the call told the operator that someone was stabbed and said Ryan and Matthew Bedford were the suspects.

Closing arguments:

The defense wanted the judge to release the brothers on bail to the custody of the parents and under the regulation of a parole officer and whatever the court deemed necessary for surveillance (i.e. house arrest, GPS monitoring and random house checkups by the parole officer).

The prosecutor wanted the Bedford brothers to have no bail because of their track record with the law, along with the current charges were more than enough to prove they are unsafe for the community.

The Judge ruled the Bedford brothers unsafe for the community and to be held without bail.

Family and friends of the Bedford brothers present during the hearing were left hurt after the decision.

 Acton police note: The last suspect is described by witness as a black male, tall, thin with longer hair worn in a “short dreadlock style.”  He is reported to be an associate of the two arrested individuals and we are asking that if anyone knows his identity to call the Acton P.D. Detective Division at 978-264-9640.

*Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.