Commonwealth v. Williams (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-164-16)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11656 COMMONWEALTH vs. DEMERY WILLIAMS. Hampden. November 6, 2015. – October 17, 2016. Present: Gants, C.J., Cordy, Botsford, Lenk, & Hines, JJ.[1] Homicide. Robbery. Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon. Joint Enterprise. Felony-Murder Rule. Evidence, Joint venturer, Wiretap, Admissions and confessions, Expert opinion. Electronic Surveillance. Constitutional Law, Speedy trial, Confrontation of witnesses. Witness, Expert, Unavailability. Cellular Telephone. Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Search and Seizure, Warrant. Practice, Criminal, Capital case, Speedy trial, Admissions and confessions, Confrontation of witnesses, Instructions to jury, Assistance of counsel, Loss of evidence by prosecution. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on September 26, 2011. The cases were tried before John J. Agostini, J. Kathleen M. McCarthy for the defendant. Katherine E. McMahon, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. LENK, J. The defendant was convicted as a joint venturer of murder in the first degree, armed robbery, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in connection with the death of William Jones in January, 2010. On direct appeal from that conviction, he argues that his motions for required findings of not guilty should have been granted, and that his case should have been dismissed on speedy trial grounds. In addition, he argues that certain evidence, including his statements to police, should not have been admitted at trial. The defendant also seeks relief under G. L. c. 278, § 33E. Having reviewed the entire record, we affirm the convictions and discern no reason to exercise our authority to grant extraordinary relief. Factual background. We recite the facts the jury could have found, reserving certain details for later discussion. At approximately 8 A.M. on January 22, 2010, the defendant, an employee at a tomato processing plant in Hartford, Connecticut, told his supervisor that he needed to leave work in order to conduct a drug deal. The supervisor gave him permission to leave, and the defendant was picked up by Jones in a white Saturn sport utility vehicle (SUV). The pair drove to a house on Florida Street in Springfield, where Jones, a drug dealer, had been led to believe that he would buy drugs from Curtis Combs, an acquaintance of the defendant. The defendant, however, knew that Jones was going to be robbed. He went into the house to introduce Jones […]