Commonwealth v. Dejesus
Commonwealth v. Dejesus
Opinion of the Court
The defendant, Braulio DeJesus, was convicted by a jury of carrying a dangerous weapon, to wit, metallic knuckles, in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 10 (b ). After a separate jury-waived trial, the defendant was convicted of carrying a dangerous weapon as a subsequent offense. The defendant raises two sufficiency challenges on appeal.
First, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the metallic knuckles admitted at trial qualified as a dangerous weapon.
Second, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he "carried" the metallic knuckles. " '[C]arrying' a [weapon] occurs when the defendant knowingly has more than momentary possession of a [weapon] and moves it from one place to another." Commonwealth v. Seay,
Judgments affirmed.
The defendant did not move for a required finding of not guilty on this basis. In fact, defense counsel conceded in his opening statement that the item in question, a set of "brass knuckles," was a dangerous weapon. Nonetheless, we will consider the defendant's challenge because a conviction based on insufficient evidence inherently presents a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. See Commonwealth v. Joyner,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.