Commonwealth v. Rosario (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-065-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 11‑P‑2005 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. ANGEL M. ROSARIO. No. 11‑P‑2005. Hampden. October 3, 2012. ‑ May 22, 2013. Present: Graham, Vuono, & Hanlon, JJ. Intimidation of Witness. Witness, Intimidation. Intent. Evidence, Intent. Indictment found and returned in the Superior Court Department on October 19, 2009. The case was tried before Daniel A. Ford, J. Michael Tumposky for the defendant. Dianne M. Dillon, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. VUONO, J. On appeal from a conviction of intimidation of a witness, the defendant contends that the judge erred in denying his motion for a required finding of not guilty. In the circumstances of this case, we conclude that the defendant’s act of pointing his fingers to his head as if he were shooting a gun while stating that the victim-witness “would die” constitutes intimidation of a witness. Consequently, we affirm the defendant’s conviction. Background. The defendant, Angel M. Rosario, was initially charged with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in connection with the stabbing of Joseph Alvarado on July 11, 2008. There is no dispute that the defendant and Alvarado had an acrimonious relationship. The tension between them stemmed from Alvarado’s suspicion that the defendant had become romantically involved with Angela Perez, the mother of Alvarado’s children, while Alvarado was in prison. Perez was close to the defendant and turned to him for protection from Alvarado, who abused her. In fact, the stabbing incident arose, in part, as a result of Alvarado’s mistreatment of Perez. About four months after the stabbing, the defendant confronted Alvarado in the hallway of the courthouse, known as the Hall of Justice, in Springfield. This encounter led to the additional charges of intimidation of a witness and threat to commit murder. Following a jury trial in Superior Court on all the charges, the defendant, who claimed that he had stabbed Alvarado in self-defense and in defense of another, was acquitted of all the charges except intimidation of a witness. On appeal, the defendant concedes that the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find that he threatened Alvarado and that Alvarado was to be a witness against him in a criminal proceeding. He claims, however, that his motion for a required finding […]