Commonwealth v. Vermette

At the defendant’s trial on indictments charging him with armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, the jury were allowed to hear: (1) that the defendant had refused to allow the police, who were investigating the shooting of Shawn Cabral, to search his automobile and turn over his sneakers; (2) that two weeks prior to the shooting, the defendant had allegedly assaulted Cabral’s sister with a knife; and (3) that a person who had confessed to the shooting of Cabral had stated to a Commonwealth witness that the defendant was going to pay him for…