Commonwealth v. Soldega

The defendant, James A. Soldega, was convicted by a judge, sitting without a jury, of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor, second offense.1 On appeal, the defendant claims that the Commonwealth presented insufficient evidence of guilt and that the prosecutor made certain *854improper comments in his closing argument, creating reversible error.

Background. On November 8, 2009, at about 1:30 a.m., a Hadley police officer was in a marked police cruiser at the intersection of Southbridge and River Drive. He observed an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) coming toward him “on a public…