Commonwealth v. Zapata

Opinion by

Mr. Chief Justice Jones,

On April 23, 1971, appellant was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault and battery and, following the denial of post-trial motions, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one to three years. On appeal, the Superior Court unanimously affirmed with out opinion. We granted allocatur and this appeal followed.

At trial, the Commonwealth produced evidence which established that around midnight on May 22, 1970, the appellant administered a severe, unprovoked beating to one Miguel Vergara. In response, appellant’s testimony indicated that Vergara had been the…