Commonwealth v. Cotto

52 Mass.App.Ct. 225, 752 N.E.2d 768 (2001)

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Issues

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Nature Of The Case

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Facts

P sought to prove that the events of January 4 and 10 related to an ongoing feud between D's family and Francisco Martinez. Francisco Martinez was allegedly shot in the abdomen by Garribel Bautista, D's brother. On January 3, 1997, Bautista was found lying in a road in Milton, beaten, stabbed, and gagged. Hours later, shortly after midnight, D and two others set fire to Martinez's apartment. Shirley Suarez, who was staying at Martinez's apartment, heard glass breaking. She saw a white plastic bottle being thrown through the broken window. It was later determined that the bottle contained gasoline and that it caused a fire in the apartment. She ran to the back door and saw three people outside the apartment. She recognized D as one of the group of three vandals. She ran upstairs to warn the other tenants. She heard the fire alarm go off and smelled smoke. The damage to the apartment consisted of the walls of the living room and bedroom being completely covered with soot; the heat from the fire caused children's plastic toys to melt in the bedroom. One week later, D kidnapped Nilsa Wong, Martinez's girlfriend. During the kidnapping, D demanded to know the whereabouts of Martinez and threatened Wong with a baseball bat, stating that he should beat her 'to leave Francisco Martinez another message.' He also told Wong that he had set fire to Martinez's apartment. D was indicted and found guilty on both indictments. D appealed in part, contending that the trial judge erred on the burglary instructions instructing the jury that an entry occurs when an instrument or weapon controlled by the defendant physically enters the dwelling.

Rule Of Law

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Holding & Decision

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Legal Analysis

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