Commonwealth v. Carrillo

• Citation: 131 N.E.3d 812,483 Mass. 269
• Decision Date: 03 October 2019
• Docket Number: SJC-12617
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Jesse CARRILLO.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

483 Mass. 269
131 N.E.3d 812

COMMONWEALTH
v.
Jesse CARRILLO.

SJC-12617

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Hampshire..

Argued February 4, 2019.
Decided October 3, 2019.

J.W. Carney, Jr., Boston (Reyna Ramirez, Boston, also present) for the defendant.

Cynthia M. Von Flatern, Assistant District Attorney (Jeremy C. Bucci, Assistant District Attorney, also present) for the Commonwealth.

Leo Beletsky, of New York, & Lisa Newman-Polk, for Committee for Public Counsel Services & others, amici curiae, submitted a brief.

Maura Healey, Attorney General, & Randall E. Ravitz, Assistant Attorney General, for the Attorney General, amicus curiae, submitted a brief.

Present: Gants, C.J., Lenk, Gaziano, Lowy, Budd, Cypher, & Kafker, JJ.

GANTS, C.J.

483 Mass. 270

In October 2013, Eric Sinacori, a twenty year old junior at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, died from a heroin overdose. His death was yet another tragic loss of a promising young adult whose life

131 N.E.3d 816

was cut short by the proliferation of heroin and other opioids that have ravaged communities across the Commonwealth. The defendant, a graduate student at the university, had provided him with the heroin that caused his death. Following a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and distribution of heroin. We granted the defendant's application for direct appellate review.

On appeal, the defendant raises two arguments. First, he contends that the Commonwealth presented insufficient evidence to support the involuntary manslaughter conviction. Second, he claims that he is entitled to a new trial on the indictment charging distribution of heroin because the judge erred in denying his request to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of possession of heroin for personal use.

To find a defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter caused by wanton or reckless conduct, our case law requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant engaged in conduct that creates "a high degree of likelihood that substantial harm will result to another." Commonwealth v. Welansky, 316 Mass. 383, 399, 55 N.E.2d 902 (1944). Selling or giving heroin to another person may be wanton or reckless conduct where, under the circumstances, there is a high degree of likelihood that the person will suffer substantial harm, such as an overdose or death, from the use of those drugs. And in many cases the circumstances surrounding the distribution of heroin will permit a rational finder of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the transfer of heroin created a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm, such as an overdose or death. But not every case will present circumstances that make such conduct "wanton or reckless." This is one such case.

We conclude that the mere possibility that the transfer of heroin will result in an overdose does not suffice to meet the standard of wanton or reckless conduct under our law. The Commonwealth must introduce evidence showing that, considering the totality of the particular circumstances, the defendant knew or should have known that his or her conduct created a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm, such as an overdose or death.

483 Mass. 271

Here, no evidence was presented during the Commonwealth's case-in-chief that would permit a reasonable jury to conclude that the inherent possibility of substantial harm arising from the use of heroin -- which is present in any distribution of heroin -- had been increased by specific circumstances to create a high degree of likelihood of substantial harm. For instance, the Commonwealth did not present evidence that the defendant knew or should have known that the heroin was unusually potent or laced with fentanyl ; evidence that Sinacori was particularly vulnerable to an overdose because of his age, use of other drugs, or prior overdoses; or evidence that the defendant knew or should have known that Sinacori had overdosed but failed to seek help. In the absence of any such evidence, we conclude that the Commonwealth did not meet its burden of producing sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that the defendant's conduct in this case created a high degree of likelihood that Sinacori would suffer substantial harm, such as an overdose or death, from his use of the heroin. The defendant's conviction of involuntary manslaughter must therefore be vacated, and a required finding of not guilty entered.

We affirm the defendant's conviction of distribution of heroin. We conclude that, in the circumstances of this case, the judge did not err in denying the defendant's

131 N.E.3d 817

request for a lesser included jury instruction on simple possession, even though Sinacori asked the defendant to purchase heroin for him and the defendant did not profit from the sale. Where the defendant traveled alone to New York to obtain the heroin that he later sold to Sinacori, and where Sinacori played no active role in the purchase of those drugs, no reasonable jury could conclude that the defendant was anything other than a "link in the chain" of distribution of the heroin, rather than merely a joint possessor of the heroin for personal use.¹

Discussion. 1. Involuntary manslaughter. We consider first whether the evidence was sufficient to support a finding of involuntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt by a reasonable trier of fact. Because the defendant moved for a required finding of not guilty at the close of the Commonwealth's case, we review the sufficiency of only the evidence presented at the time

483 Mass. 272

the Commonwealth rested after its case-in-chief, viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth. Commonwealth v. Berry, 431 Mass. 326, 330, 332, 727 N.E.2d 517 (2000) (sufficiency of evidence determined "by an examination of the evidence at the close of the Commonwealth's case-in-chief"). We reserve discussion of the evidence offered by the defendant after the Commonwealth rested for our analysis of his challenge to the judge's denial of his request for a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of possession of heroin for personal use.

a. The evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth. In the fall of 2013, the defendant and Sinacori lived in the same neighborhood in Amherst. Both were heroin users. Based on the text messages presented in evidence, a reasonable fact finder could have inferred that the defendant met Sinacori shortly before September 30, 2013, and Sinacori learned that the defendant periodically traveled to purchase heroin. In a text message sent on September 30, Sinacori asked the defendant when he was making "the next run." Sinacori indicated he would be willing to purchase "another bun" of heroin² when the defendant made that "run." The defendant said he could provide two "buns" for $180, but if Sinacori wanted only one "bun," it would cost one hundred dollars. The defendant also sent a text message to Sinacori that he would have to pay in advance.

They arranged to meet on October 1, when the defendant left Massachusetts to travel to the Bronx borough of New York to pick up the "buns." During the defendant's trip, the defendant told Sinacori that he was also going to a drug store to purchase a "new rig";³ Sinacori sent a text message that he would like to split a "10 pack" with the defendant, unless the defendant needed them all. The defendant, upon his return, invited Sinacori to his apartment to "[d]o some."

Sinacori went to the defendant's apartment that evening and used heroin with

131 N.E.3d 818

the defendant. Later that night, Sinacori asked the defendant in a text message if he "could get another bun tomorrow."

483 Mass. 273

The defendant replied that if he were to "let go one from [his] headstash," he would charge "mad dollar" for it. Sinacori agreed to wait for the defendant's next trip; the defendant replied by text that he would be leaving at 5 P.M. on October 3. Sinacori gave the defendant seventy dollars before the defendant left on his trip, and asked the defendant to "spot" him thirty dollars. The defendant drove to the Bronx to buy heroin. At 8:44 P.M. that evening, the defendant sent Sinacori a text message stating, "Candy acquired," and added that he was on his way back. Later, the defendant sent a text message that he was delayed because of traffic in Hartford, Connecticut. Sinacori replied that his "veins are crying" and that he was hurting. At 11:40 P.M. , the defendant sent a text message that he knew that Sinacori was "hurtin but u will very soon be in the loving comforting arms of Miss H." The defendant said he would drive to Sinacori's home so that Sinacori would not "have to go far in hurt mode." As he approached, the defendant asked Sinacori whether he had the balance of thirty dollars; Sinacori sent a text message that he only had twenty dollars. They agreed that either the defendant would give him "nine," inferably referring to nine out of ten bags of...