Commonwealth v. Lopes

On February 16, 2005, a jury convicted the defendant of felony-murder in the first degree, armed robbery, and illegal possession of a firearm. Represented by new counsel on appeal, the defendant claims error in the denial of his various motions to suppress statements he made to the police and to suppress evidence seized from his person and the van he was driving shortly after the murder. The defendant also claims that the trial judge (who was not the motion judge) erred in allowing the jury to convict him on the theory of felony-murder by joint venture when that theory had not been presented…