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Where the defendant was convicted of murder and drug possession, his convictions must be upheld despite his assertions of error in (1) the denial of his motions for a required finding of not guilty and motions to dismiss, (2) the judge's failure to declare a mistrial based on alleged jury tampering and (3) the judge's instruction pursuant to Commonwealth v. Ciampa, 406 Mass. 257 (1989).
Sufficiency of the evidence
"The evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, was sufficient to support a conviction of deliberately premeditated murder. The defendant fired two shots at close range into the back of the head of the victim, which alone, is sufficient to support a conviction of deliberately premeditated murder. ... He then went around the other side of the car, opened the rear passenger's side door, and fired a third shot into the right temple of the victim. There was no error in the denial of the defendant's motion for a required finding of not guilty."
Speedy trial issue
"On September 20, 2011, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss, pursuant to M.R.Crim.P. 36 (b), alleging the denial of his right to a speedy trial. ...
"The Commonwealth filed a motion on July 20, 2011, to continue the trial date. The motion was allowed, and the trial was continued to October 14, over the defendant's objection. ... (T)he time between September 12 and September 20, 2011, is chargeable to the Commonwealth. The total amount of excludable time between March 2, 2010, and September 20, 2011, was 384 days, leaving 183 days chargeable to the Commonwealth. This was well within the one-year requirement of rule 36. The motion properly was denied."