Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 265
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B (2026)

Assault with dangerous weapon; victim sixty or older; punishment; subsequent offenses

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 15B. (a) Whoever, by means of a dangerous weapon, commits an assault upon a person sixty years or older, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment in jail for not more than two and one-half years.

Whoever, after having been convicted of the crime of assault upon a person sixty years or older, by means of a dangerous weapon, commits a second or subsequent such crime, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two years. Said sentence shall not be reduced until one year of said sentence has been served nor shall the person convicted be eligible for probation, parole, furlough, work release or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served one year of such sentence; provided, however, that the commissioner of correction may, on the recommendation of the warden, superintendent, or other person in charge of a correctional institution, or the administrator of a county correctional institution, grant to said offender a temporary release in the custody of an officer of such institution for the following purposes only: to attend the funeral of next of kin or spouse; to visit a critically ill close relative or spouse; or to obtain emergency medical services unavailable at said institution. The provisions of section eighty-seven of chapter two hundred and seventy-six relative to the power of the court to place certain offenders on probation shall not apply to any person 18 years of age or over charged with a violation of this subsection.

For the purposes of prosecution, a conviction obtained under subsection (a) of section fifteen A or paragraph (a) of section 18 shall count as a prior criminal conviction for the purpose of prosecution and sentencing as a second or subsequent conviction.

(b) Whoever, by means of a dangerous weapon, commits an assault upon another shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or imprisonment in jail for not more than two and one-half years.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 206 cases (39 in the last 5 years), 1971–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Buttimer, 128 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Commonwealth v. Buttimer, 128 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 15× “A jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree with deliberate premeditation; assault by means of a dangerous weapon under G. L. c. 265, § 15B ( b ) ; armed assault with intent to murder under G.”
United States v. Hudson, 823 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2016). · cites it 3× “Assault with a Dangerous Weapon The government maintains that Hudson’s prior felony conviction for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(b), also qualifies as a predicate “violent felony” under the ACCA.”
Commonwealth v. Appleby, 402 N.E.2d 1051 (Mass. 1980). · cites it 4× “Thus the relevant behavior for the offense of assault with a dangerous weapon, G.L.c. 265, § 15B, is an outward demonstration of force, and § 15B requires only apparent ability to injure.”
Commonwealth v. Anderson, 963 N.E.2d 704 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 3× “265, § 17; assault by means of a dangerous weapon in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 15B; carrying a firearm without a license in violation of G.”
Commonwealth v. Musgrave, 649 N.E.2d 784 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). · cites it 6× “Convicted by a District Court jury of assault by means of a dangerous weapon 1 (G. L. c. 265, § 15B), the defendant appeals, claiming instructional error.”
Lassend v. United States, 898 F.3d 115 (1st Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(b). Lassend does not dispute that he was convicted under this statute.”
Commonwealth v. Porro, 939 N.E.2d 1157 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “265, § 15A 2 ; assault by means of a dangerous weapon (a handgun), in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 15B (by and leaving the scene of an accident causing personal injury, in violation of G.”
Commonwealth v. Mattei, 920 N.E.2d 845 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “296, 305-306 (1980), citing G. L. c. 265, § 15B (discussing “dangerous weapon” element of assault “by means of a dangerous weapon”).”
Commonwealth v. Beal, 52 N.E.3d 998 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 2× “265, § 15A; and two counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, G. L. c. 265, § 15B (b). 2 The indictments charging unlawful possession of a firearm also alleged that the defendant previously had been convicted of two violent crimes and thus was subject to enhanced…”
Commonwealth v. Howard, 436 N.E.2d 1211 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 4× “Similarly, we should not read G.L.c. 265, § 15B, which proscribes assault "by means of a dangerous weapon," to include assault by means of an apparently dangerous weapon.”
Commonwealth v. Melton, 763 N.E.2d 1092 (Mass. 2002). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 265, § 15B (b). The judge instructed the jury on both types of assault, and, if the defendant were found guilty, the judge’s instructions required the jury to specify on the verdict slip which type of assault had been proved.”
Commonwealth v. Denehy, 2 N.E.3d 161 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 2× “272, § 53, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 15B, on May 10, 2011, nearly three years after his initial arraignment on August 21, 2008.”
Show all 206 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(6) — 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Arias, 939 N.E.2d 1169 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010).
Commonwealth v. Tang, 845 N.E.2d 407 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006).
Commonwealth v. Quinones, 936 N.E.2d 436 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010).
Commonwealth v. Lengsavat, 729 N.E.2d 303 (Mass. App. Ct. 2000).
Commonwealth v. Werner, 896 N.E.2d 45 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(a) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Semegen, 892 N.E.2d 815 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(b) — 31 cases
United States v. Hudson, 823 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2016). “Assault with a Dangerous Weapon The government maintains that Hudson’s prior felony conviction for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(b), also qualifies as a predicate “violent felony” under the ACCA.”
Lassend v. United States, 898 F.3d 115 (1st Cir. 2018). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(b). Lassend does not dispute that he was convicted under this statute.”
United States v. Tavares, 843 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2016).
United States v. Barbosa, 896 F.3d 60 (1st Cir. 2018).
United States v. Abdulaziz, 998 F.3d 519 (1st Cir. 2021).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 15B(h) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Fitzgibbons, 502 N.E.2d 142 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.