Commonwealth v. Fielding

For the fatal shooting of Joseph Repucci and robbery during the holdup of a liquor store in Medford on June 20, 1972, a Middlesex grand jury indicted two young men, Edward G. Fielding and Joseph R. Yandle, charging them with murder in the first degree and armed robbery. The codefendants moved before a trial to suppress the statements they had separately made to the police on July 1-2, 1972, contending that the statements were elicited through and resulted from illegal arrests, and were not voluntary but given under the duress of drug “withdrawal.” After voir dire, which consumed sixteen days…