Commonwealth v. Philyaw

At trial, three Boston police officers identified the *731defendant as the front-seat passenger in a car they had followed in August, 1996. After a high speed chase, the front-seat passenger bolted from the car and threw a gun, subsequently retrieved by police, into some bushes. Although the police tried to follow the passenger, he disappeared after leaping over one fence and climbing another. Subsequently apprehended, the defendant was charged with possession of a firearm without a license and receiving a firearm with knowledge that the serial number had been removed.1 His main defense at trial…