Commonwealth v. C.S.

C.S. is arrested after police respond to a radio call for a person with a gun. Upon arrival, they interview a complainant who told them that C.S. pistol whipped him multiple times and then fled into a nearby residence. Police observed that the complainant had bruises and lacerations on his face and was missing two teeth. They forced their way into C.S.’s house where he was allegedly found hiding in the basement. No firearm was recovered, but C.S. was charged with Aggravated Assault (F1) and three gun charges (VUFA). At trial, the defense caught the complainant testifying inconsistently with many of his statements to police as well as his prior testimony at a preliminary hearing. The defense also subpoenaed an independent witness who had been working on the block with the complainant to establish that the altercation was nothing more than a fistfight between two grown men that ensued because the complainant had engaged in a heated argument with C.S.’s wife over a parking lot. The complainant was also caught embellishing the incident in his 911 call to police. The defense successfully argued that the entire incident had been embellished by the victim because he had lost a fair fight to C.S. C.S. was acquitted of all felonies (carrying a maximum of 42 years in jail), and found guilty only of misdemeanors.