Commonwealth v. Wiggins

On the evening of August 29, 2007, two armed and masked men entered a home in Springfield, assaulting and robbing its occupants at gunpoint. As they left, the homeowner, Tracy Bennett, who was returning home, was shot and killed. Swinkels Laporte and Maxwell Wiggins were identified as the assailants and, following a joint jury trial in the Superior Court, were found guilty of murder in the first degree, as well as other offenses related to the home invasion.

On appeal, they primarily claim that witnesses were improperly allowed to identify them as the perpetrators during the trial. They also…