Commonwealth v. Garrett

The defendant was convicted by a Superior Court jury on three indictments charging armed robbery with a firearm while masked, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 17, the armed rob*258bery statute.1 To prove that the defendant was armed with a “firearm,” the Commonwealth relied on evidence that the defendant used a BB gun to perpetrate each of the robberies. The defendant appealed from his convictions, and we allowed the Commonwealth’s petition for direct appellate review. The defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because a BB gun is not a “firearm” within…