Commonwealth v. Langley (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-029-18)
1 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS NORFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT Criminal No. 17-64 COMMONWEALTH vs. COREY LANGLEY MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS Defendant Corey Langley is charged with two counts of possession of a substance, material, article, explosive, or ingredient which could be used to make a destructive or incendiary device or substance in violation of G.L. c. 266, § 102(a)(i) (Counts 001 and 002), and two counts of secreting, throwing, launching, or otherwise placing an explosive or incendiary device in violation of G.L. c. 266, § 102A (Counts 003 and 004). Defendant moves to dismiss under Commonwealth v. McCarthy, 385 Mass. 160, 163 (1982), arguing the grand jury heard insufficient evidence to support the indictments. After hearing,1 for the following reasons, the motion is ALLOWED. BACKGROUND The grand jury heard the following evidence: On January 13, 2017, Holbrook Police Department Detective Scott Glover received a call to the effect that two possible explosive devices were located at 44 Poole Circle in Holbrook (“the Property”). When Det. Glover responded to the scene, he observed in the Property’s 1 At the hearing on December 19, 2017, I allowed the Commonwealth’s request for a significant amount of time (until February 27, 2018) to file a written opposition. Despite the accommodation, the Commonwealth has not filed an opposition. 2 backyard near the gate (i) a white bleach bottle with a hole cut into the cap and a pair of underwear on or near the bottle, and (ii) a Crisco bottle filled with nails and batteries, which had a hole cut in its top and a wick coming out of the hole. Det. Glover contacted the State Police Bomb Squad. James Morgan, the owner of the Property, told Det. Glover that after midnight on the previous night, he had heard a loud noise in the woods, like something running away, but he did not see anything. Mr. Morgan reported that the next morning, he observed a bleach bottle in the backyard and a Crisco oil bottle and a burned pair of underwear in the wooded area outside the backyard gate to the Property. Mr. Morgan also said that he noticed that the gate had been sprayed with a liquid. The State Police responded to the scene, photographed the evidence, and made sure it was safe to remove the two bottles from the area. Mr. Morgan told Det. Glover that a number of teenagers were staying in a house on the other side of the wooded area behind the Property, including possibly the defendant; and they were the only people Mr. Morgan believed may have put the objects in his yard. Another Holbrook police officer, Officer Sterling, walked back behind the Property until he […]