BOSTON — The Supreme Judicial Court has overturned the 2015 conviction of a Westhampton man accused of lying to police during an investigation into a bloody fight that broke out at the man’s house.
And now, local prosecutors intend to once again seek charges against Paquette.
Raymond Zachary Paquette, then 21, was convicted in Hampshire Superior Court last year on two counts of misleading police by saying twice he did not witness a fight that took place at a party he was hosting at his father’s house the year before.
Others at the party testified that Paquette was in the kitchen when one of his friends smashed a glass bottle on another man’s head, splitting open that man’s head and neck. A jury found there was enough evidence to convict Paquette — who maintained he was outside picking up beer bottles during the fight — of the charges.
Paquette’s friend, Patrick Bousquet, was jailed for the attack following a separate trial.
The state’s high court on Thursday ruled that the judge in the 2015 trial had erred in his instructions to the jury when he told them that they must consider Paquette guilty if the evidence showed that he had made any false statements to police. Rather, the SJC said, Paquette could only be guilty of the charges if a jury found that his statements to police would have altered the course of the investigation.
The SJC found that a jury could have found Paquette responsible for influencing the investigation the first time he allegedly lied, but not the second time. The court ordered that both convictions be overturned and the case be reconsidered by the Northampton court.
In a statement, Northwestern district attorney’s office officials say the office intends to seek a new trial.
“We are disappointed that the SJC found fault with the trial judge’s instructions to the jury, which were a correct statement of the law at the time this case was tried,” the statement reads. “We will continue with the prosecution of this case in Superior Court.”
Paquette’s attorney, Thomas D. Frothingham of Newton, declined to comment.
Paquette was sentenced in March 2015 to a suspended 1 ½-year term at the Hampshire County House of Correction by Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder. The judge also placed Paquette on probation for two years and ordered him to speak at schools, avoid drugs and alcohol, stay away from the victim of the attack, undergo a mental health evaluation and comply with any recommended treatment.
The man convicted of the attack, Patrick Bousquet, then 21, was sentenced to 2½ years in the House of Correction followed by two years probation following his guilty plea to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
For his part, Paquette was first interviewed by police the day after the party. He allegedly told police he was outside during the time of the fight and did not know the names of those involved.
Over the following weeks, police interviewed other party guests who said Paquette was in the kitchen during the time of the fight and that he unsuccessfully tired to break up the altercation before it turned physical. The interviews also confirmed that Bousquet was the one who hit the other man with the bottle, according to court documents.
At his second interview, Paquette again maintained that he was outside during the time of the fight and said that he was on sleeping pills and “blackout drunk.”
The SJC found that a jury could have found Paquette guilty of misleading police only for the first interview because by the time of Paquette’s second interview police already had enough evidence to charge Bousquet with the crime and thus, Paquette’s alleged lies could not have alter the course of the investigation.
“Even if the jury had been instructed correctly, no view of the evidence would have allowed them to conclude that the defendant violated (that law) at the second interview,” Justice Lenk wrote.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com