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Published: 6/29/2022 5:46:23 PM

GREENFIELD Two witnesses in the case against a former western Massachusetts man apprehended in Florida a month after being added to the Massachusetts State Polices list of most-wanted fugitives will not have to testify at his trial, a Franklin County Superior Court judge ruled on Wednesday.

Judge Mark Mason spoke face to face with both individuals, who invoked their Fifth Amendment privileges to not incriminate themselves on the stand, and decided they had satisfied him in arguing their privileges were proper in these circumstances. They could be forced to testify if they accept immunity in exchange for their testimonies. One of the individuals is the complaining witness against Jeffrey Cancel-Muniz, 42, who faces charges of strangulation or suffocation, kidnapping, rape and aggravated rape as a result of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred in Deerfield in May 2020.

Cancel-Muniz appeared at Wednesdays motion hearing with attorney Thomas P. Glynn, who has replaced attorney Isaac Mass. Mass requested to be removed from the case due to a conflict.

Attorney Tyler Ingraham, representing the complaining witness, referred to by only her initials, explained his client was willing to enter the courtroom to speak with Mason, but insisted she not be in the same room with Cancel-Muniz. Mason said every defendant has the right to be physically present in a courtroom and asked Glynn to persuade Cancel-Muniz to go into a cell outside the courtroom. Cancel-Muniz agreed and the witness entered the room, where she was sworn in and spoke with Mason. Cancel-Muniz was ushered back into the room after the woman left and the next witness was sworn in to talk with Mason.

The majority of people in the courtroom were then ordered to leave for what is called a Martin hearing, named after the state Supreme Judicial Court case Commonwealth v. Martin in 1996. This allows the witness to make his or her case for Fifth Amendment privileges in private. The courtroom reopened after about 10 minutes and Mason informed the second witness, represented by attorney John Godleski, that he was free to go.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sandra Staub of the Northwestern District Attorneys Office.

Cancel-Muniz, a Level 3 sex offender, is being held at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction in Greenfield. His trial is expected to be held in November.

He was arrested in Florida in April 2021 after a hotel clerk had an issue with him, searched his name online and saw his face on a poster the State Polices Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section had released to news media outlets. Deputies with the Osceola County Sheriffs Office responded to the Travelodge Suites by Wyndham Kissimmee Orange after the lodging facility notified them that Cancel-Muniz was a guest there, according to a statement from Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio at the time. Deputies verified the warrants against Cancel-Muniz and arrested him as a fugitive from justice.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.

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Two witnesses invoke Fifth Amendment rights in former fugitive's Deerfield case - The Recorder