Commonwealth v. Daniel Lee Lopez (September 15th, 2011)
Docket #10-P-855
Massachusetts Appeals Court
Facts: Lopez lured delivery man to a house and brutally punched him in the face and proceeded to rob him. The man later died in the hospital from the injuries. There was another man, Ramos, present when Lopez hit the delivery man. Defendants were indicted for murder in the first degree on a theory of felony-murder, Lopez as the principal and Ramos as a joint venturer, with unarmed robbery as a predicate offense. Superior Court judge accepted motion to dismiss murder indictments on the ground that jury heard insufficient evidence to support murder charges. The Commonwealth appeals the judge’s decision.
Issue #1: Was there an intent to harm by the defendant or a conscious disregard for human life, so as to hold the defendant responsible for the felony murder?
Yes. The judge on the case reasoned that the death coming from one punch was unforeseeable, and that the defendant did not have the mental state required for murder and did not have conscious disregard for human life, thus dismissing the murder indictments. However, the punch cannot be looked at in isolation. It was a sucker punch, on a vulnerable victim who was in an exposed situation; the defendant should have known that a punch in that situation could be deadly. The defendant’s actions following the punch, robbing the victim and not helping as he struggled for his life, further illustrate that the defendant carried out the robbery with conscious disregard for human life.
Issue #2: Was there evidence to show that Ramos, the joint venturer, knowingly participated in the commission of the crime and had the intent required for the offense?
No. There was no evidence of a preexisting plan and there was no evidence that he aided in making the phone call to bring the delivery man to the address. Also, there was no evidence that showed that Ramos knew what Lopez was planning on doing.
Conclusion: The motion to dismiss the indictment of Lopez on murder in the first degree is reversed; remanded to Superior Court for further proceedings. The motion to dismiss the indictment of Ramos on murder in the first degree as a joint venturer is affirmed.
Prepared by KP
Prepared by KP
