Commonwealth v. Claudio

A jury in the Superior Court convicted the defendant, Pedro Claudio, Jr., of breaking and entering a dwelling in the night time with intent to commit a felony and assaulting a person lawfully therein, see G. L. c. 266, § 14 (1992 ed.), and murder in the first degree by reason of felony-murder. The defendant is represented by new counsel on appeal. We reject his argument that an unlawful breaking and entering into a dwelling in the night time, with intent to commit an armed assault on a lawful occupant of the dwelling, which is followed by an actual assault, cannot serve as the predicate for a…