Commonwealth v. Loach

A Superior Court jury found the defendant, Paul Loach, guilty on an indictment charging him with the attempted extortion of Elias Atamian. G. L. c. 265, § 25. The trial judge instructed the jury on both the crime of attempted extortion and the elements of joint venture. On appeal, the defendant argues *314that the denial of his motion in limine and the subsequent introduction of evidence of events occurring after the date of the alleged attempted extortion created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of justice. In particular, the defendant claims that Atamian’s testimony about a telephone call he…