Commonwealth v. Mattias

The defendant was convicted of two instances of armed robbery, assault with intent to rob while armed, armed assault in a dwelling house, and unlawful possession of a hypodermic syringe (the last conviction was placed on file). On appeal, he asserts five categories of error in the trial.

We summarize the facts which the jury could have found from the evidence furnished by the Commonwealth. At 1:00 a.m. on August 18,1976, John Conroy, a resident in a rooming house at 46 Spring Street, Brockton, answered a knock on his door. When he opened the door, a man placed a hammer between the door and the…