Commonwealth v. Bartlett (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-080-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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 SJC‑11187 COMMONWEALTH vs. GREGORY BARTLETT. Essex. January 10, 2013. ‑ May 13, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Municipal Corporations, Police. Motor Vehicle, Operating under the influence. Controlled substances. Police, Unlawful arrest. Search and Seizure, Arrest, Pursuit. Statute, Construction. Indictments found and returned in the Superior Court Department on October 2, 2009. A pretrial motion to suppress evidence was heard by Richard E. Welch, III, J., and the cases were heard by David A. Lowy, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Geoffrey DuBosque for the defendant. Paul C. Wagoner, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. John M. Collins, for Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Inc., amicus curiae, submitted a brief. DUFFLY, J. The defendant appeals from his convictions of operating while under the influence of alcohol, fifth or subsequent offense, and possession of a class D substance greater than one ounce. The defendant’s sole claim of error is the denial of his pretrial motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a vehicle stop conducted by a Merrimac police officer in the neighboring city of Amesbury. Because the stop was authorized under the terms of the mutual aid agreement between the municipalities, and that agreement complied with the requirements of G. L. c. 40, § 8G, we affirm the denial of the motion and the judgments of conviction.[1] Background. The defendant was indicted on charges of operating while under the influence of liquor, fifth or subsequent offense, in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 24 (1) (a) (1); operating under the influence of liquor, with a blood alcohol content of .08 per cent or greater, fifth or subsequent offense, G. L. c. 90, § 24 (1) (a) (1); possession of a class D substance, more than one ounce of marijuana, G. L. c. 94C, § 34; and possession of a class C substance, G. L. c. 94C, § 34. The defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the Merrimac officer’s stop of his vehicle. A Superior Court judge denied the motion, and a single justice of this court denied the defendant’s request to file an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 15 (a) (2), as appearing in 422 Mass. 1501 (1996). At a jury-waived trial in the Superior Court, the defendant was […]