Commonwealth v. C.J., Plymouth Superior Court, Armed Assault to Murder

The Client was indicted in Plymouth Superior Court for Armed Assault to Murder and Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon for allegedly stabbing a man multiple times.

The Commonwealth and the Brockton Police Department alleged that the client came across a couple who were arguing and tried to intervene between the two of them. Words were exchanged between the man and the client and the confrontation became physical. The defendant is alleged to have then stabbed the person multiple times.

The victim was taken to a hospital in Boston where he survived his injuries. Both the girlfriend and the victim provided the Brockton Police with a description of the suspect. From this description, the police compiled a photo array and presented it to each of them. The victim was not able to make a positive identification; while the girlfriend, according to the police, did.

Attorney Travayiakis challenged the lawfulness of the identification by the girlfriend and filed a motion to suppress the identification. A hearing was held in Plymouth Superior Court and the detective who presented the photo array testified concerning the procedure that was utilized when the photo array was presented to the girlfriend.

The judge agreed with the defense, and ruled that the identification procedure employed by the Brockton Police officers in this case was impermissibly suggestive, and therefore, the identification of the defendant in this case was suppressed or excluded from evidence.

Without this evidence of identification, the Commonwealth did not have other sufficient evidence to proceed to trial and the case was DISMISSED.

Boston Criminal Lawyer Lefteris K. Travayiakis is available 24/7 for free consultation on all Massachusetts Crimes, and may be contacted directly at lefteris@travayiakis.com or 617-733-3234.