BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2017—Three Dorchester men are expected to be arraigned tomorrow following their indictments for murder in the fatal shooting of 41-year-old Shawn Borden last year, Assistant District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

TYSHAWN SANDERS (D.O.B. 1/31/98), TYSHAWN CUMMINGS (D.O.B. 2/21/95), and JAMARI MANNING (D.O.B. 4/1/95) are expected to be arraigned tomorrow morning in Suffolk Superior Court after a Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments Feb. 15 charging each in connection with the Oct. 18 shooting that claimed Borden’s life a week later.  Each faces charges of first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and carrying a loaded firearm; Sanders faces additional charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm after he was found with a different gun on Nov. 4. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2017—The Chelsea man who allegedly beat 32-year-old Melvin Cortes, killing him, was arraigned on a murder charge today after his return from Ohio, where he fled after the fatal encounter, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

KAMAYA FARIKAFI (D.O.B. 12/7/93) was ordered held without bail. He will return to court on March 14. more »

BOSTON, February 23, 2017— Just as pretrial motions were about to be heard in his pending child sexual assault case, a Hyde Park man yesterday pleaded guilty to all charges related to the abuse of two young girls more than two decades ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

BRUCE SADLER (D.O.B. 10/10/57) pleaded guilty to two counts of rape of a child as a hearing in Suffolk Superior Court on defense motion to suppress evidence was set to begin yesterday.  He faces sentencing before Judge Janet Sanders on April 5.  Prosecutors will recommend a state prison sentence. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2017—The individual and corporate defendants in the deaths of Robert Higgins and Kelvin Mattocks in a South End trench collapse were arraigned today and their trial has been scheduled for early next year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

The Boston-based ATLANTIC DRAIN SERVICES, INC., and its owner and sole officer, KEVIN OTTO (D.O.B. 3/17/74) of Blackstone, are scheduled for trial in Suffolk Superior Court on Feb. 5, 2018, on indictments charging them each with two counts of manslaughter, one count of misleading an investigator under the state’s witness intimidation statute, and six counts of concealing a record under the evidence tampering statute. The Suffolk County Special Grand Jury returned the indictments Feb. 8 after an exhaustive probe by Suffolk prosecutors assisted by Boston Police homicide detectives and federal workplace safety investigators. more »

BOSTON, February 16, 2017—The drunk driver who crashed into another vehicle, killing 34-year-old Luz Puentes-Sheets and 44-year-old Maria Hernandez, was sentenced today following her conviction earlier this month, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JENNIFER GUZMAN (D.O.B. 7/5/1988) waived her right to a jury trial on two counts each of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury in connection with the 2014 collision on the Jamaicaway that claimed her passengers’ lives. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Kenneth Salinger on Feb. 6 found her guilty of two counts of motor vehicle homicide and acquitted her of additional charges of manslaughter and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  more »

BOSTON, Feb. 16, 2017—The victim of a beating earlier this month in Chelsea has died of his injuries and his alleged assailant was apprehended in Ohio on murder charges yesterday, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, State Police Colonel Richard McKeon, and US Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio Peter C. Tobin said.

District Attorney Conley and Chief Kyes identified the victim as Melvin Cortes, 32, of Everett. Authorities say he was beaten by a man wielding a baseball bat on Congress Avenue in the evening hours of Feb. 5, suffering life-threatening injuries. The investigation into that beating led Chelsea Police and State troopers assigned to Conley’s office to seek and obtain a warrant for the arrest of Chelsea resident KAMAYA FARIKAFI (D.O.B. 12/7/93) in the days that followed. more »

BOSTON, February 15, 2017—The Dedham man charged with killing 31-year-old Marcus Hall at a Mattapan barbershop has been ordered held without bail, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (D.O.B. 10/12/87) of Dedham was arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm.  At the request of Assistant District Attorney Craig Iannini of the DA’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Edward Curley ordered Shakespeare held without bail. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2017—An arraignment date has been scheduled in the case against the business owner and corporation charged in the deaths of 47-year-old Robert Higgins and 53-year-old Kelvin Mattocks, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ATLANTIC DRAIN SERVICES, INC., and its owner and sole officer, KEVIN OTTO of Blackstone, are expected to appear Feb. 23 for arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court after a grand jury returned indictments on Wednesday charging each with two counts of manslaughter, one count of misleading an investigator under the state’s witness intimidation statute, and six counts of concealing a record under the evidence tampering statute.  more »

BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2017—A Dorchester woman today admitted helping to cover up the murder of her daughter, 2-year-old Bella Bond, in 2015 and will be sentenced after the child’s alleged killer goes to trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RACHELLE DEE BOND (D.O.B. 7/25/75) pleaded guilty to the indicted charges of being an accessory after the fact to murder and larceny over $250 by false pretense. She was not accused of any involvement in Bella’s death: rather, she had been charged with aiding the man who allegedly killed her in the aftermath and continuing to receive state benefits intended to support the girl’s care. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2017—A Jamaica Plain man accused in the October shooting that left a 9-year-old girl paralyzed was held on high bail at his arraignment today, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DOMINIQUE FINCH (D.O.B. 6/21/89) of Jamaica Plain was arraigned today in Roxbury Municipal Court on charges of assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.  Assistant District Attorney Catherine Ham of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit requested bail of $500,000 with orders that Finch stay away and have no contact with the victim and her family, stay away from the Annunciation Road housing development where the shooting occurred, GPS monitoring, and abide by a curfew in the event he is to be released on bail.  Ham also asked that Finch’s bail in an open 2016 case be revoked. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 8, 2017—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following remarks on manslaughter and related indictments stemming from the Oct. 21, 2016, deaths of Robert Higgins and Kelvin Mattocks at a construction site in Boston’s South End:

“On Oct. 21, 2016, 47-year-old Robert Higgins and 53-year-old Kelvin Mattocks were part of a work crew run by Atlantic Drain Services, Inc., excavating a trench below Dartmouth Street.  At about 12:30 pm, dirt within the trench gave way and a nearby fire hydrant collapsed into the hole, suddenly filling it with water.  The flood mixed with dirt and clay, trapping the men within seconds below the rising waterline, and ultimately claiming their lives.  more »

BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2017–Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today presented a group of Jamaica Plain eighth graders with certificates honoring their graduation from a program aimed to help them stay away from drugs, crime, and violence.

Conley and members of his staff visited the presented the awards to approximately 50 students at the James W. Hennigan K-8 School in Jamaica Plain, honoring the kids and teens he called “leaders” for completing the Overcoming Violence program offered by Conley’s office. more »

BOSTON, Feb. 3, 2017–Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley joined the University of Massachusetts Boston, juvenile justice professionals, and partners from across the youth advocacy spectrum to announce an ambitious pilot program aimed at diverting juvenile offenders away from the criminal justice system and toward services that will improve their lives and their communities.

The Juvenile Alternative Resolution program will team Suffolk prosecutors with UMass Boston’s Restorative Justice Juvenile Mediation Project and McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, Action for Boston Community Development Changing Tracks Initiative, MissionSAFE, the Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center Bridging the Gap program, Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps Detention Diversion Advocacy Corps, and the Justice Resource Institute SMART Team with the goal of reducing juvenile involvement in the criminal justice system in Suffolk County – and the barriers to social, academic, and employment success that can follow. more »