Criminal – Murder – Home invasion

Listen to this article

Where two defendants were found guilty of first-degree murder and other offenses related to a home invasion, there is no reversible error despite (1) both defendants’ claim of error in the witness identifications of them as the perpetrators, various evidentiary issues and the prosecutor’s closing argument; (2) one defendant’s challenge of the denial of his motions to sever and for a mistrial; and (3) the other defendant’s challenge of his non-murder sentences.

However, one of the defendants’ convictions of home invasion and armed robbery while masked must be remanded for resentencing based on his status as a juvenile.

Commonwealth v. Wiggins (and 28 companion cases) (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-146-17) (29 pages) (Budd, J.) Pretrial motions to suppress evidence heard by Moriarty, J.; and cases tried before Velis, J., in Superior Court. Alan Jay Black for Maxwell Wiggins Jr.; Jeffrey L. Baler for Swinkels Laporte; Katherine E. McMahon for the commonwealth (Docket No. SJC-10975) (Sept. 6, 2017).