Commonwealth v. Tavares

After a jury trial the defendant, Scott Tavares, was convicted of assault and battery as a lesser included offense of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon.2 Tavares appeals his conviction, alleging errors regarding the jury instruction. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Background. The facts surrounding the assault and battery are as follows. The victim went to a house in the Roxbury section of Boston in order to purchase alcohol. When the victim rang the doorbell to the house, someone appeared through the second-floor window and directed the victim to the back of the…