Commonwealth v. R.B. – Framingham District Court

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGE AGAINST MANSFIELD MAN DISMISSED AFTER ALLEGED VICTIM INVOKES PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION

Defendant, a 33 year-old Construction Project Manager and Mansfield resident, with no criminal record, was charged with Assault and Battery on a Family / Household Member (G.L. c. 265, §13M) in the Framingham District Court. Framingham Police were called to a residence for a family problem. Upon arrival, police spoke with the Defendant’s girlfriend who reported that the Defendant pushed her causing her to fall down and strike a coffee table. The girlfriend showed the police injuries to her chest and arms. After getting the girlfriend’s story, police arrested the Defendant.

Result: The Defense Team interviewed the girlfriend who stated that she told the District Attorney’s Office that she sustained her injuries as a result of being intoxicated and falling down, and that her injuries did not come from the Defendant. Furthermore, the girlfriend told the Defense Team that she called the police station, almost every hour, after the Defendant had been arrested because she wanted him released from jail and she felt bad that he had been arrested. At the Defendant’s arraignment, the girlfriend stated that she did not want a “stay away” or “no contact order” because she was not in any fear of the Defendant and she wanted him to return home. In the police report, the girlfriend told police that her argument with the Defendant escalated into a pushing and shoving match. If the girlfriend initiated a physical confrontation by pushing and shoving the Defendant, she arguably committed an assault and battery. At trial, the girlfriend asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and elected not to testify against the Defendant and the Court dismissed the case.