Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon – Cell phone –

• Steven Topazio wrote this May 12, 2020 at 7:25 pm

The defendant was charged with Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon after his ex-girlfriend went to the police and accused him of striking her in the head with her cell phone.  At the time of the incident, the complainant told the police that she broke up with the defendant and was out with her new boyfriend at a local bar.  According to the police report, the complainant stated that after a few minutes of being seated the defendant approached her table and yelled at the complainant and told the other man to stay away.  The defendant then picked up her cell phone and struck her in the temple with it. In Massachusetts, under MGL c. 265 s. 15A(b), the felony charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon carries up to 10 years in state prison and a fine of not more than $5,000, or not more than 2 1/2 years in the House of Correction. A cell phone by definition is not a dangerous weapon but as alleged, in this case, it was used as a dangerous weapon.  When we think of dangerous weapons, we think of items such as knives, guns, etc.  An item that is normally used for innocent purposes such as a cell phone, however, can become a dangerous weapon if it is intentionally used as a weapon in a dangerous or potentially dangerous fashion. The law considers any item to be a dangerous weapon if it is intentionally used in a way that reasonably appears to be capable of causing serious injury or death to another person.  A cell phone, which by itself is not a dangerous weapon, can become a dangerous weapon if it is used to strick someone in the head.  So too, a lighted cigarette can be a dangerous weapon if it is used to burn someone; or a pencil if it is aimed at someone’s eyes or used to stab someone.