BOSTON, Jan. 15, 2016— A Chelsea man pleaded guilty today to his role in the 2013 assault that ended in the shooting death of Elder Morales Aldana in Chelsea — the third of three defendants to do so and the first to offer an apology for his actions, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
ERICK ROMERO (D.O.B. 7/2/98) of Chelsea today pleaded guilty to manslaughter and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for his role in the incident in which Morales was killed and a second man assaulted. Though he was 14 years old at the time of the homicide, Suffolk prosecutors in 2013 indicted Romero as a youthful offender, opening his case to the public; he has been behind bars since that time.
Juvenile Court Judge Terry Craven sentenced Romero to the custody of the Department of Youth Services until the age of 21, followed by probation until his 23rd birthday. During that time, Romero must stay away and have no contact with the victim’s family or witnesses, must cooperate with DYS, and is barred from living in Chelsea, East Boston, or Everett.
Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Mark Zanini, chief of the DA’s Juvenile Unit, would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Romero and a group of fellow gang associates that included JONATHAN CASTRO (D.O.B. 7/30/90) and ELDER PORTILLO (D.O.B. 8/1/94), both of Chelsea, approached Morales and a second man under the mistaken belief that the victims were members of a rival gang and that one of the men had previously been involved in an assault on Portillo.
However, Morales had no gang ties and neither man had ever been involved in a prior altercation with any of the defendants.
As the victims stood on the porch of a Blossom Street residence, Romero and Portillo charged at them with knives. Castro then approached with a firearm, firing five times as the victims attempted to flee. Morales was struck once in the chest and once in the head; he succumbed to his injuries at Whidden Hospital in Everett.
Castro was arrested that same evening by Chelsea and State police. Romero and Portillo were identified in the course of a grand jury investigation. Though Romero took part in the assault preceding the homicide, prosecutors said, there was no specific evidence that he knew Castro was armed.
Castro pleaded guilty in 2014 to charges of second-degree murder, armed assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and carrying a loaded firearm and is currently serving a life sentence. That same year, Portillo – who was initially indicted for second-degree murder – pleaded guilty to manslaughter and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of probation.
Zanini was second-seated by Assistant District Attorney David McGowan. Michael Glennon is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Romero was represented by Jeffrey Richards.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
