Another Defendant Charged with Unrelated Shooting Death in Dorchester

BOSTON, Dec. 31, 2018—The man who allegedly shot 26-year-old Wilfred Peters and 27-year-old Jeffrey Montaque to death earlier this year was arraigned today for their murders after more than five months on the run, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

NICHOLAS ANTOINE, 20, of Boston’s South End was ordered held without bail in Suffolk Superior Court on indictments charging him with two counts of first-degree murder and firearms offenses for the June 6 incident on Faneuil Street in Brighton.

Assistant District Attorney Julie Higgins of the DA’s Homicide Unit told the court that Antoine was among a small group of people at Peters’ home on the night of June 5 into the morning of June 6. At some point, the evidence suggests, Antoine was asked to leave that small gathering – at which point he allegedly went to his car, retrieved a firearm, and returned. Prosecutors say he opened fire, striking both Peters and Montaque multiple times before fleeing. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Higgins told the court that ballistics evidence suggests only one firearm was used in the shootings. She said Antoine was identified as the gunman through eyewitness statements, video footage, fingerprints, and other evidence. Investigators obtained a district court complaint charging him with the murders, and the Suffolk County Grand Jury indicted him in August, but he was not apprehended until his arrest earlier this month in Jonesboro, Georgia.

Also arraigned today was JOCELYN VASQUEZ, 32, charged in Dorchester Municipal Court with murder for the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Garfield Thomas in his Mattapan home. She, too, was held without bail.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, deputy chief of the DA’s Homicide Unit, told the court that Vasquez shared Thomas’ third-floor apartment Evelyn Street and shot him in the stomach with a handgun after an altercation on the morning of May 15. She allegedly hid the weapon beneath a mattress and fled the scene. Critically wounded, Thomas made his way to the building’s first floor, where he made statements to another resident and to first responders. Among other evidence, investigators recovered Vasquez’ fingerprints from the firearm as well as video evidence showing her leaving the building shortly after the time of the shooting.

Antoine was represented today by attorney Christopher Belezos and will return to court on Jan. 24. Vasquez was represented by attorney Anthony Ellison and will return to court on Feb. 8.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Totality of Circumstances Remain Under Investigation

BOSTON, Dec. 26, 2018—A Hyde Park man was arraigned today after he allegedly discharged a firearm in his home Monday, injuring a household member, and then lied to first responders about what had happened, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

KOREY FRANKLIN, 32, who is a Boston Police officer, was arraigned in West Roxbury Municipal Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon – under a theory of recklessness – and misleading an investigator for the Christmas Eve incident at his Hyde Park home. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2018—The man accused of fatally beating 54-year-old Joshua Rivera as he slept in a Charlestown park has been indicted for the homeless man’s murder, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross and Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas announced today.

The Suffolk County Grand Jury yesterday returned an indictment charging CLIFTON MOORE, 30, with first-degree murder in the September attack that claimed Rivera’s life. Moore is already in custody on a separate assault case in Middlesex County. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 17, 2018—Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas today delivered the following remarks on his decision to withdraw indictments charging SEAN ELLIS with first-degree murder and armed robbery after a court reversed his convictions in the 1993 shooting death of Boston Police Detective John J. Mulligan: more »

BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2018—The woman who stabbed 34-year-old Sasha Morris to death during an argument two years ago was convicted of voluntary manslaughter today, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury returned the verdict convicted ELBA MORALES early on its first full day of deliberations following about a week of testimony. Morales, 49 and a resident of Dorchester, stabbed Morris to death in a friend’s Fayston Street home during an argument. She faces sentencing next week. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 13, 2018—Two-month-old Natasha Nicole Mejia-Rivera has died of injuries she suffered in the motor vehicle crash that earlier claimed the life of her sister, 5-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

The two children were among a group of five pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle in Revere late Sunday afternoon. Adrianna was pronounced dead at the scene; Natasha was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital with critical injuries that claimed her life in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit last night. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 12, 2018—A Suffolk Superior Court jury today returned verdicts convicting four former youth workers on 19 indictments charging them with abusing the teenagers they were trusted to care for, District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

After a trial that began nearly a month ago, jurors found JALISE ANDRADE, 37, of Brockton; SILVIO DEPINA, 40, of Brockton; HERMANO JOSEPH, 28, of Taunton; and AINSLEY LaROCHE, 44, of Roxbury guilty of beating, sexually assaulting, and/or threatening four teenage males in ritualized punishments at the Casa Isla residential facility on Long Island between April and August of 2014. The defendants were employed by Volunteers of America, which had at that time contracted with the Department of Youth Services to provide residential treatment to juveniles in DYS custody. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 11, 2018—A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted a Dorchester man of murdering 21-year-old Joey DeBarros during a traffic altercation on Gallivan Boulevard last year, District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

On their first full day of deliberations, jurors found DEONARINE GANGA, 31, guilty of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with the April 13, 2017, shooting that claimed DeBarros’ life. He faces a mandatory life term when he is sentenced tomorrow. more »

REVERE, Dec. 10, 2018—A Boston woman was arraigned today for the crash in Revere yesterday that claimed the life of 5-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera and left a 2-month-old infant in critical condition, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

AUTUMN HARRIS, 42, of Beacon Hill was arraigned in Chelsea District Court today on charges of motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle for her alleged role in the collision near the intersection of Route 145 and North Shore Road. Judge Matthew Machera set bail at $10,000, the amount recommended by Assistant District Attorney Masai King. Machera further ordered Harris to remain drug- and alcohol-free if she posts that amount. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 6, 2018—The two men who allegedly dragged 18-year-old Kemoni Miller alongside their car, killing him, were formally charged with his homicide today, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

DEJON BARNES, 18, and KENNETH FORD, 23, were arraigned today on murder charges in connection with the encounter last month that left Miller grievously injured and led to his death at Boston Medical Center. Ford was additionally arraigned on a count of using a motor vehicle without authority, and both men had previously been charged with unarmed robbery. Dorchester Municipal Court Judge Jonathan Tynes ordered both men held without bail. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 5, 2018—A Suffolk Superior Court jury has found two men guilty of murdering 17-year-old Yanuel Viloria in the stairwell of a Ruggles Street apartment building last year, District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

On their fifth day of deliberations, jurors this afternoon convicted MALIK PHILLIPS, 20, of first-degree murder and ROBERT SILVA-PRENTICE, 21, of second-degree murder. Both face life sentences at a hearing next month. Under Massachusetts law, Phillips will not be eligible for parole, while Silva-Prentice will be eligible after a period of at least 15 years to be determined by the court. more »

BOSTON, Dec. 4, 2018–An off-duty police officer from New Jersey today admitted to an unprovoked assault on a stranger inside a Boston pizza shop earlier this year, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.

During an appearance this afternoon in Suffolk Superior Court, DANIEL HUNT, 27, of Barrington, N.J., pleaded guilty to the indicted charge of assault and battery for his role in the January beating that left another man with facial injuries that required surgery. Assistant District Attorney Judith Lyons of the DA’s Major Felony Bureau recommended that the court enter a guilty finding and sentence him to two years of probation with orders that Hunt have no contact with the victim, remain alcohol and drug free, undergo an anger management program, and pay $2,618.67 in restitution for out-of-pocket costs incurred by the victim as a result of the injuries he suffered in the attack. more »