Three alleged Lowell murder suspects to stay behind bars, SJC says

The Supreme Judicial Court upheld a decision from a single justice barring bail for three alleged murderers whose Lowell trial has been paused because of a State Police scandal.

Earlier this year brothers Billy, Billoeum, and Channa Phan were in the middle of their second trial for the 2020 murder of Tyrone Phet when the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office disclosed that the lead investigator on their case, State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley, was allegedly involved in a fatal drunken cruiser crash in 2023.

The disclosure continued the trial while several investigations, including a criminal investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, unfolded.

Following the continuance, counsel for the brothers filed motions for bail reconsideration, with Middlesex Superior Court Judge Christopher Barry-Smith deciding to set bail for $25,000 for each defendant.

But the SJC stayed the bail decision after an appeal from Middlesex, then a single justice overturned Barry-Smith’s order, saying that he relied too heavily on the amount time the Phans had remained incarcerated following their arrest, through their first trial, and now as their trial is paused.

Monday’s full SJC decision affirmed that finding, stating that a bail judge has discretion, but it “is not unlimited.”

The justices wrote that the strength of the Commonwealth’s case against the Phan brothers, alleged efforts to conceal their crimes, and their criminal history weighed against allowing them to be released.

“In light of these considerations, we agree with the single justice that the trial judge abused his discretion by assigning too much weight to the length of the defendants’ detention and what he deemed to be the equities of the case,” the decision stated, “i.e., the disclosure of the alleged misconduct surrounding Quigley’s 2023 fatal accident and the resulting State police investigation.”

Since the disclosure and the Phans’ trial continuance, an independent review into the Middlesex DA’s handling of the case found that no attorneys were aware of the allegations against Quigley until immediately prior to telling the defense.

A grand jury has also indicted Quigley, who pleaded not guilty to motor vehicle homicide.

Billy Chan’s lawyers said the defendants’ counsel had already filed another motion for Judge Barry-Smith to reconsider bail last Friday, writing to the Herald, “we’re not giving up yet on bail.”