Commonwealth v. Irene

A taxicab driver in Lawrence was robbed at knife-point by a passenger wearing a hat that covered most of his face; the driver fired his pistol at the fleeing robber, wounding him in the back. Police located the defendant near the scene of the robbery suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to his back, but no witness was able to identify him as the robber. The defendant testified at trial, denying that he was the robber and claiming to have been shot in an unrelated incident by unknown assailants. A Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of armed robbery, G. L. c. 265, § 17. On appeal,…