Lynn attorney pleads innocent to tampering with document

SALEM – A Lynn attorney charged with destroying a case file for a pending murder trial remains free on his own personal promise to return to court, but is confined to his apartment, monitored by an ankle bracelet only to leave his home for mental health counseling, to visit his daughter and court appearances.Ilya Ablavsky, 32, of 130 Neptune Boulevard, #714E, Lynn, appeared Friday morning for his arraignment, pleading innocent to a charge of tampering with a court document to be used in an official proceeding before Salem Superior Court Judge John T. Lu.The judge agreed to impose the same pretrial condition previously ordered in Salem District Court while he awaits trial at the joint recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Greg A. Friedholm and defense lawyer Ronald J. Ranta.The only new condition added was that Ablavsky be able to visit his daughter, who lives in South Hadley, twice a month.Ablavsky, who has a history of bipolar disorder and spent five years on probation for making bomb threats while he was at Brandeis University, went to the Salem Superior Criminal Clerk’s Office on Nov. 3, presented his identification and asked to see the case file for Jose Cabrera, 20, who has since been found guilty of murder in the second degree in connection with the shooting death of Tony Pich, 22, on Nov. 1, 2008.Ablavsky snuck out of the office with the file that contained at least 51 documents when no one was looking and shredded the documents.He then called Cabrera’s attorney Jeffrey Karp to tell him what he had done and Karp immediately contacted the Essex District Attorney’s Office.Ablavsky was arrested two days later in Lynn.He apparently believed that if there was no file, the state would be unable to try the case, but the state and the defense worked together compiling the documents shredded. Cabrera was successfully tried and convicted by Assistant District Attorney Kristen R. Buxton. An appeal has been filed in the case.Ablavsky has been deemed competent by doctors at Bridgewater State Hospital following an evaluation.The Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers placed Ablavsky, who just had received his law degree last summer, on inactive disability status as a result of the allegation lodge against him.He is due back in court on April 20 for a pretrial conference.