A Dorchester man will serve up to 15 years in state prison for a shooting that partially paralyzed a teenager who shielded his younger brother from the barrage, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

DAUNTE BEAL (D.O.B. 8/3/87) was convicted March 25 of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm as a Level II armed career criminal, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm. Jurors acquitted him of an additional count of armed assault with intent to murder.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Janezic, deputy chief of Conley’s Gang Unit, recommended that Beal serve a total of 18 to 25 years behind bars and another four years of probation upon his release. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly sentenced him to 14 to 15 years – the maximum penalty for the lead charge – and the recommended probationary term upon his release.

“This was an act of directed, intentional violence,” Conley said. “It wasn’t reckless or negligent – it was deliberate, malevolent, and unprovoked. Both victims have to live with the effects of that violence for the rest of their lives. Dorchester is better off with this gunman off its streets.”

During a four-day trial, Janezic proved that the two victims, also from Dorchester, were at an outdoor birthday party on Howard Avenue on the evening of July 13, 2008, when an unknown man stopped on the sidewalk near their group and asked if one of the partygoers was looking at him. There was a brief verbal exchange, the stranger left and then reappeared with a second man, and the altercation began again.

Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the conflict was resolved peacefully and amicably.

A short time later, the evidence showed, Beal drove up to the Howard Avenue scene in his mother’s car and asked if anyone had a problem. Partygoers said there was no problem.

Beal drove a short distance down the street, made a u-turn, and pulled up in front of the party again. He said that if anyone did have a problem, he would slap that person. Men in the street began to yell at him, and bottles were thrown at his car. One of those bottles broke Beal’s rear driver’s side window. The glass drew blood from Beal’s scalp.

Enraged, Beal jumped from the car with an unregistered .357 caliber magnum revolver. The partygoers scattered, with the victim, then 19, and his brother, then 15, running behind a nearby duplex along with a cousin. Beal fired twice as he chased and briefly lost them.

The victim and his brother then ran to the front of the duplex. Believing it to be their friend’s house, they climbed onto the porch and tried to enter the front door. The building, however, belonged to a neighbor who was not at home. The door was locked. The brothers were trapped as Beal came around to the front, stood at the steps, and raised the handgun.

The older brother shielded the younger one with his body as Beal fired three shots. One of those shots tore into the older brother’s back and struck his spine. Beal fled the area, but not before leaving several droplets of blood from his minor injury.

The victim was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where he remained for about two months. He underwent intensive rehabilitation therapy for an additional six months. Today, he requires the use of a wheelchair or crutches and leg braces for mobility. He needs assistance to perform even everyday tasks such as taking a shower, Janezic said. It remains unclear whether he’ll ever regain the full use of his legs.

Boston Police saw Beal’s vehicle a short time after the shooting. On the front passenger’s side floorboard, they recovered the revolver, which contained five spent shell casings. The handgun also bore traces of blood that, like the blood at the crime scene, was matched to Beal through DNA testing.

Jennifer Sears was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Beal was represented by attorney Robert Zanello.