Commonwealth v. Rodriguez

Convicted by a jury of murder in the second degree, *611the defendant asserts on appeal that (1) the trial judge erred in excluding the grand jury testimony of an unavailable witness; (2) a jury instruction incorporating the so-called “Acevedo error,” see Commonwealth v. Acevedo, 427 Mass. 714, 716 (1998), created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice; (3) the defendant was entitled to a required finding of not guilty on the theory that he participated as a joint venturer; and (4) the defendant’s statements to the police should have been suppressed because he was not notified of his…