Commonwealth v. Gomes

A jury in the Suffolk Superior Court convicted the defendant of trafficking in cocaine. On appeal, he challenges the denial of his pretrial motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant. We conclude that the evidence should have been suppressed.

The warrant in question, which contained a “no-knock” provision, was executed at an apartment in the Dorchester section of Boston on April 23, 1987. Upon arriving at the apartment, the officers beat the door down with a sledgehammer, while yelling “police.” The officers rushed into the apartment, and found the defendant coming down a…