Commonwealth v. McCollum
79 Mass. App. Ct. 239
| Mass. App. Ct. | 2011Background
- Sept. 4, 2003: Boston police surveilled a stolen car in Roxbury; Williams fled, discarded crack and car pursued into 80 Walnut Ave; Williams arrested in apartment 12; defendant present with Williams and a girl believed to be his daughter; holster found in hallway closet; gun found in a grocery bag with six bullets in the same closet; defendant admitted gun location after Miranda warnings.
- Affidavit for warrant to search apartment 12 described Williams’s flight, discarded crack, and presence of a firearm; warrant issued and search found seven bags of crack, one bag under the bed, and marijuana.
- Charges: possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, school zone possession, marijuana possession, unlawful firearm possession, and ammunition possession without an FID card; suppression motion arguing improper protective sweep and warrant affidavit insufficiency denied.
- Trial focused on whether the defendant involuntarily confessed about the firearm location, with cross-examination targeting police threats to Lynch and DSS custody; substantial ballistics and lab certificates admitted, some under Melendez-Diaz issues.
- Jury convicted on ammunition and unlawful firearm possession; acquitted marijuana; cocaine possession conviction reversed; new-trial motion denied; appeal consolidated with challenges including suppression, confrontation, and constitutional claims.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency of the Commonwealth’s evidence | Commonwealth: evidence supports firearm and ammunition possession and cocaine possession. | McCollum: evidence insufficient for cocaine possession. | Firearm and ammunition sufficient; cocaine possession insufficient. |
| Confrontation clause and Melendez-Diaz certificates | Commonwealth: certificates properly admitted. | McCollum: certificates violate confrontation clause. | Firearm certificate reversal; ammunition certificate harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. |
| Motion to suppress—protective sweep and warrant | N/A | Protective sweep and warrantless entry improper. | No error; protective sweep justified; warrant supported by probable cause. |
| Other Fourth/Fifth Amendment challenges to entry and pre-Miranda statements | N/A | Challenged entry and pre-Miranda questioning. | No reversible error; admission did not create substantial miscarriage of justice. |
| Right to present a defense and other evidentiary rulings | N/A | Judge restricted certain cross-examination and hearsay evidence. | No reversible error; defense presentation not unfairly curtailed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671 (1978) ( Latimore standard for sufficiency of evidence)
- Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S. Ct. 2527 (2009) (confrontation rights and certificate evidence)
- Commonwealth v. DiBenedetto, 414 Mass. 37 (1992) (Latimore analysis and admissibility considerations)
- Commonwealth v. Mendes, 44 Mass. App. Ct. 903 (1997) (ammunition design element; Latimore context)
- Commonwealth v. Farnsworth, 76 Mass. App. Ct. 87 (2010) (Latimore and evidence sufficiency applications)
- Commonwealth v. Muniz, 456 Mass. 166 (2010) (harmless-error analysis for ballistics certificates)
- New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (1984) (public-safety exception to Miranda)