Commonwealth v. Sosa
Annotate this CaseIn the case before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, defendant Amadi Sosa was convicted of murder in the first degree, armed assault with the intent to rob, and unlawful possession of ammunition in connection with the shooting death of William Serrano. The defendant appealed his convictions and the denial of his motion for a new trial, alleging several errors, including that the trial judge wrongfully denied his motion for relief from a joint trial with his co-defendant, Julio Brian Leiva, and that the judge erroneously allowed the prosecutor to use an unauthenticated video recording during the trial. The court affirmed the defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and armed assault with the intent to rob, and the denial of his motion for a new trial. However, the court vacated the defendant's conviction of unlawful possession of ammunition due to an error in the jury instructions. The court found that there was no reversible error with respect to the defendant's convictions of murder in the first degree and armed assault with the intent to rob, and declined to exercise its authority under G. L. c. 278, § 33E to grant relief or order a new trial.
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