Commonwealth v. Hernandez
473 Mass. 379
| Mass. | 2015Background
- Commonwealth charged Hernandez with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first-degree murder (felony-murder), home invasion, unlawful possession of ammunition, and possessing a firearm without a license based on Oct. 22–23, 2009 incidents.
- Trials were joined with codefendants Karon and Jamal McDougal; Karon and Jamal were acquitted.
- A pretrial motion to suppress firearm evidence was denied; issue centered on the automobile exception and inevitable discovery.
- Police stopped a green Honda Civic with a Dominican flag; trunk search revealed a handgun after showup identification.
- Six-hour gap between robbery and stop was argued to break probable cause; court weighed total circumstances and nexus.
- Court concluded the firearm would have been inevitably discovered and denied suppression
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probable cause for trunk search under automobile exception | Hernandez argues no probable cause at search time | Commonwealth contends probable cause existed | Probable cause supported; inevitable discovery applies |
| Joinder of codefendants and charges | Joinder prejudiced Hernandez due to defenses | Joinder promoted efficiency and coherence | No abuse of discretion; joinder permissible |
| Relief under G. L. c. 278, § 33E | Request for relief denied | No basis for relief shown | No basis to grant § 33E relief |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Gouse, 461 Mass. 787 (Mass. 2012) (automobile exception and applicability to searching vehicles)
- Commonwealth v. Cast, 407 Mass. 891 (Mass. 1990) (scope of automobile search containers within vehicle)
- Commonwealth v. Balicki, 436 Mass. 1 (Mass. 2002) (inevitable discovery standard and good faith)
- Commonwealth v. Sbordone, 424 Mass. 802 (Mass. 1997) (inevitable discovery after unlawful conduct)
- Commonwealth v. O'Connor, 406 Mass. 112 (Mass. 1989) (prematurity of evidence and admissibility under inevitable discovery)
- Commonwealth v. Vasquez, 462 Mass. 827 (Mass. 2012) (severance and independent evidence considerations)
- Commonwealth v. Akara, 465 Mass. 245 (Mass. 2013) (severance and admissibility when defenses not mutually exclusive)
- Commonwealth v. Pillai, 445 Mass. 175 (Mass. 2005) (joinder—related offenses presumed; misjoinder requires strong showing)
- Commonwealth v. Tran, 460 Mass. 535 (Mass. 2011) (standard for determining relatedness of offenses)
- Commonwealth v. Marrero, 427 Mass. 65 (Mass. 1998) (admissibility of evidence that is inextricably intertwined with charged offense)