Commonwealth v. Berrios (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-136-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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‑1426 Appeals Court COMMONWEALTH vs. ANGEL D. BERRIOS, JR. No. 11‑P‑1426. Essex. April 10, 2013. ‑ November 19, 2013. Present: Trainor, Graham, & Wolohojian, JJ. Sex Offender. Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act. Parole. Practice, Criminal, Complaint, Admission to sufficient facts to warrant finding, Continuance without a finding, Sentence, Parole. District Court, Jurisdiction. Complaints received and sworn to in the Lawrence Division of the District Court Department on January 16, 2007, and May 2, 2008. A motion to revise and revoke sentence, following an admission to sufficient facts and a continuance without a finding, was heard by Thomas M. Brennan, J.; a motion for release from unlawful restraint was also heard by him; and a motion to terminate probation was heard by Michael J. Brooks, J. A motion to vacate a stay of sentence was allowed in this court by Katzmann, J., and a motion for reconsideration was considered by Cohen, J. Nicole M. Procida for the defendant. Catherine Langevin Semel, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth. TRAINOR, J. The defendant appeals from the denial of his motion for release from unlawful restraint, which challenged, as illegal, the imposition of community parole supervision for life (CPSL). This case presents two issues for our review and determination: first, whether the defendant waived his right to challenge the sufficiency of the criminal complaints by admitting to sufficient facts; second, whether CPSL could legally be imposed on the defendant for failing to register where he received a continuance without a finding (CWOF) rather than a conviction. We affirm. Factual and procedural background. The defendant, a level two sex offender as a result of having previously been adjudicated delinquent for rape of a child with force, was required to report annually to the Lawrence police department for verification of his required personal information. On December 19, 2006, the Lawrence police department mailed the defendant a letter mandating that he report to the station on January 10, 2007, in order to complete his verification. The defendant did not appear on that day; nor did he return any of the department’s telephone calls over the following week. On January 19, the defendant was arrested for failing to register. After this initial complaint was issued, the district attorney’s office learned that the […]