Commonwealth v. Lester

This appeal involves a trial on thirty-four indict*56ments charging intimidation of a witness. G. L. c. 268, § 13B.1 In the grand jury’s return, the indictments were split, with seventeen returned against the defendant, Benjamin Lester, III, and seventeen returned against his codefendant brother, Aaron Lester.2 The indictments charged that, on March 15, 2004, the defendant, in a series of telephone calls, threatened and offered inducements to influence a witness in an unrelated criminal prosecution for a shooting and that, on March 14, 2004, Aaron also lodged threats and offered inducements for…