Court overturns murder sentence for man convicted of killing Revere cop in a drunken gun battle

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today overturned Robert Iacoviello's second-degree murder conviction for the death of Revere police officer Daniel Talbot behind Revere High School in 2007 because the judge in the case refused to tell the jury to consider whether the death was a case of self defense or the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The fatal confrontation began and ended quickly early on Sept. 29 between two groups of drunken people - one a group of off-duty Revere cops in some bleachers, the other a group of local high-school troublemakers loosely associated with the Blood gang.

According to the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruling, Talbot spotted one of the troublemakers walking near his group and called him a "Blood killer" and then, when the guy ignored him, kept up the verbal barrage. The guy called a friend, said he thought some rival troublemakers were to blame. The friend retrieved a gun he had and went down to the high school with some other pals, including Iacoviello, intending to scare the cops - whom they thought were members of a rival crew.

After that, participant accounts varied greatly, but the court said it was clear that when the two groups began assembling, Talbot got out his service gun and went into a firing stance. And then a bullet came from his direction and Iacoviello returned fire, hitting Talbot in the head, killing him.

Although Suffolk County prosecutors charged Iacoviello with first-degree murder, a Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted him of second-degree murder, which meant a life sentence, but with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

The appeals court said Judge Patrick Brady erred in denying defense requests to discuss the idea of self defense or of the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter in his instructions to the jury. While the jury might still have found Iacoviello guilty of murder - or found that while he acted in self defense, he went too far in firing his gun - Brady deprived him of his rights by not letting the jury even consider other possibilities, the court ruled.

Here, the aforementioned facts, if believed, establish that when Iacoviello entered the scene near Soto's truck, he found himself facing Talbot, who was in a firing stance and aiming a gun in Iacoviello's direction. Whether Talbot actually fired first or not, however, these circumstantial facts, and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, are sufficient to raise at least a reasonable doubt that Iacoviello had a reasonable ground to believe, and actually did believe, that he was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

There is also at least a reasonable doubt as to whether Iacoviello availed himself of all proper means to avoid physical combat before resorting to the use of deadly force. Here, there was evidence that Iacoviello entered the dark pathway, where he would have been partially surrounded by [another officer]'s truck and two nearby fences, and, if believed, faced Talbot, who was in a firing stance and who possibly fired off one or more rounds. This was sufficient evidence to put the question before the jury, who would have been in the best position to determine whether, under the circumstances, Iacoviello had an opportunity to avoid combat before firing a weapon.

The court continued:

The events behind Revere High School on September 29, 2007, unfolded rapidly, in the dark, late at night, among individuals who were all intoxicated. The jury rejected the theory of deliberately premeditated murder. Had they chosen to believe the evidence supporting self-defense, the jury also could have acquitted Iacoviello altogether on the murder charge. ... The error was thus prejudicial.

The court upheld Iacoviello's conviction on illegal gun possession. It also dismissed a charge of accessory after the fact against the brother of the guy who brought the gun down to the high school.