Commonwealth v. Parillo

Convicted at a bench trial in District Court of possession of a Class A controlled substance, heroin, with intent to distribute (G. L. c. 94C, § 32), of possession of an instrument, a hypodermic needle, adapted for the administration of controlled substances (G. L. c. 94C, § 27), and of assault and battery on a police officer (G. L. c. 265, § 13D), the defendant, after sentence,1 appealed to the jury-of-six session of the District Court for trial de nova. On August 8, 1989, the day for hearing of motions and trial, the defendant failed to appear as required after a luncheon recess of court.…