Commonwealth v. Mendez
Commonwealth v. Mendez
Opinion of the Court
Following a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of violation of an abuse prevention order, G.L.c. 209A, § 7, assault and battery on a family or household member, G.L.c. 265, § 13M(a ), and witness intimidation, G.L.c. 268, § 13B. On appeal, he argues that (1) with respect to the assault and battery charge, he may have been convicted of a crime for which he was not indicted; (2) with respect to the witness intimidation charge, the jury may have convicted him of intimidating the wrong witness, and he may have been convicted of uncharged conduct; and (3) the trial judge erred in allowing the Commonwealth to obtain recordings of the defendant's telephone calls from jail. We affirm.
1. Background. The defendant was indicted for multiple crimes against his wife (victim). Relevant to this appeal, two of the indictments (counts 9 and 10) each charged the defendant with assault and battery of the victim on the same date.
At the end of the first day of trial, the judge requested that the Commonwealth provide an outline of "the corresponding conduct and dates that line[ ] up with each [of the twelve indictments] just for purposes of the anticipated required finding, just to make sure the Commonwealth hits all the elements for each one." In response, the Commonwealth submitted a "List of Indictments and Corresponding Conduct" (list). The list set forth that count 9 charged the defendant with "punch[ing]" the victim on August 24, 2014, while count 10 charged the defendant with "push[ing]" the victim on that same date.
The victim testified that, on August 24, 2014, an argument erupted in the couple's bedroom over messages the defendant saw on her cellular telephone, after which he "smack[ed]" or slapped her on the face. The argument continued downstairs in the kitchen, where he put his hands on her shoulders, shook her, and told her to get out of the house. He then hit the victim, pushed her onto the floor, and kicked her stomach. The defendant then gathered some of the victim's belongings and threw them outside. The defendant also began to push her out of the house, pulling her as she clung to the door frame. Eventually, he dislodged her, and she rolled down the front steps and hurt her back. Apparently referencing this attack, the defendant later sent a text message to the victim stating, "Then I kick you away in front of Dejon [Rice] and you do it again the next day."
At the close of trial, the judge gave the jury a specific unanimity instruction. The verdict slips for counts 9 and 10 were identical and contained no reference to the specific type of blows specified in the list, nor did the judge otherwise inform the jury which acts were associated with each indictment. The defendant did not object to either the jury instructions or the verdict slips and did not ask that the list be provided to the jury. The jury acquitted the defendant on count 9, but found the defendant guilty on count 10.
2. Discussion. a. Assault and battery on a family or household member. The defendant argues that his conviction on count 10 must be reversed because the list was a bill of particulars that limited the indictments such that only the act of pushing the victim could form the basis for his conviction on count 10. Because the evidence at trial included multiple unlawful touchings of the victim, the defendant argues that there is a "substantial risk" that he was convicted on conduct that was not charged. Commonwealth v. Barbosa,
The defendant's argument confuses two distinct principles-the purpose and effect of a bill of particulars to give a defendant reasonable notice of the crime charged sufficient to prepare his defense, on the one hand, and the right under art. 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights not to be convicted of a crime punishable by a term in State prison without first being indicted for that crime by a grand jury, on the other. Assuming, without deciding, that the list was a bill of particulars,
The purpose of a bill of particulars is to provide a defendant with notice sufficient to prepare his defense. Here, the defendant had sufficient notice of the charges against him to prepare his defense. Commonwealth v. Pillai,
We next consider whether there is a substantial risk that the defendant was convicted of uncharged conduct. See Barbosa,
The defendant asserts that the danger that he was convicted of uncharged conduct is heightened because testimony that the defendant kicked the victim during the August 24 beating was not presented to the grand jury, but only at trial. The defendant has not provided a record sufficient (e.g., the grand jury minutes) to determine whether the defendant's assertion is correct. See Mass.R.A.P. 8, as amended,
b. Witness intimidation. The defendant next argues that the witness intimidation conviction should be reversed. First, he speculates that the jury may have thought the intimidation was of Rice, who was also a witness, rather than the victim. The jury were repeatedly and unambiguously informed that the victim was the subject of the intimidation charge, including by the judge at the opening of the trial, by the prosecutor in her opening statement, throughout the production of evidence at the trial, and by both parties in their closing arguments.
To be sure, there was also evidence of the defendant's consciousness of guilt as demonstrated by the defendant's attempt to coach his friend, Rice, as to how to testify regarding, inter alia, the August 24, 2014, attack by the defendant on the victim. However, on this record, we see no risk that the jury were confused as to the fact that it was the victim, and not Rice, who was the object of the witness intimidation count.
Second, the defendant argues that, even though the indictment alleged a violation of G.L.c. 268, § 13B(1), the list limited the Commonwealth to proving witness intimidation on the basis of indirect intimidation or harassment (under G.L.c. 268, § 13B [1][c ] ) rather than attempted emotional injury (under G.L.c. 268, § 13B [1][a ] ).
c. Jail telephone calls. Contrary to the defendant's argument, nothing in Commonwealth v. Odgren,
Judgments affirmed.
The defendant was acquitted on all charges except one count of assault and battery (count 10), one count of witness intimidation (count 5), and one count of violation of the abuse prevention order (count 7). The defendant makes no argument on appeal regarding his conviction of violation of the abuse prevention order.
The production of a bill of particulars is governed by Mass.R.Crim.P. 13(b)(1), as appearing in
The defendant argues that the indictment on count 10 was invalid because "[s]imply tracking the language of the statute is not sufficient." "An indictment conforming with the statutory form is sufficient." Commonwealth v. Mayotte,
Given this conclusion, we need not address the defendant's argument that double jeopardy principles prohibit retrial on count 10.
The list set forth that, with regard to count 5, the defendant "misle[d], intimidated or harassed" the victim "by enlisting a friend, Dejon Rice, to deliver messages to" her.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.