BOSTON, Dec. 7, 2015—Eighteen-year-old Jonathan Reyes was shot to death in South Boston almost three years ago because he undertook drug sales that interfered with established dealers in the area, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said today.
JONATHAN MATOS (D.O.B. 1/1/89) of Mattapan was arraigned today on charges of first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of a large-capacity feeding device in connection with Reyes’ 2013 homicide. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Mark Zanini, Suffolk Superior Court Clerk Magistrate Gary D. Wilson ordered Matos held without bail.
Zanini told the court that Matos and a small group of associates routinely sold heroin in the area of the D Street housing development in the fall of 2012. In the course of this activity, he was known to carry a handgun. Also in the fall of 2012, Reyes moved to South Boston and joined Matos in the drug trade. Over a period of months, however, Reyes began to sell to drug users who had previously purchased from Matos’ group.
“This situation led to hostility between the parties, impinging on a lucrative drug trade,” Zanini said. “This hostility led Matos and others to confront Reyes.”
After a series of phone calls in the late night hours of Jan. 6, 2013, into the early morning hours of the following day, Matos and others travelled to the West 2nd Street residence where Reyes was staying. Reyes came outside and was shot to death by Matos and his companions, who used a large-capacity semiautomatic pistol, Zanini said.
The grand jury investigation that led to Matos’ Dec. 4 indictment is still open, Zanini told the court.
Also today, three men were arraigned in connection with the Saturday night homicide of Maurice Scott, 38, on Old Colony Avenue in South Boston.
DEWAYNE DIGGS (D.O.B. 12/28/91) and DONDRE SNOW (D.O.B. 3/11/93), BOTH OF Dorchester, were charged with Scott’s murder and held without bail; a third defendant, DAQUAN PETERS (D.O.B. 3/21/95) of Roxbury, was arraigned on gun and drug charges and held on $100,000 bail.
According to Assistant District Attorney Mark Hallal, Boston and State Police responded shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to the area of 425 Old Colony Ave. for a report of a person shot. There, they found 38-year-old Maurice Scott lying on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds that claimed his life at Boston Medical Center.
Witnesses told investigators that a heavy-set male in dark clothing – later identified as Diggs – fired on the victim, Hallal said. Diggs then entered the passenger side of a vehicle that fled the area; a witness was able to provide police with a partial license plate number for the vehicle and its direction of flight.
A short time later, a different witness contacted Boston Police to report a vehicle operating at a high rate of speed in the area of Ashland and Elm streets in Dorchester before stopping in a vacant lot, where three men in the vehicle appeared to change their clothing, prosecutors said. Officers quickly arrived at the location and discovered that the 2016 Nissan Altima’s license plate matched the partial plate number of the vehicle used in Scott’s homicide. The three men inside – driver Snow, front seat passenger Diggs, and rear seat passenger Peters – were removed from the car.
Investigators searching the area recovered a .40 caliber firearm the lot near the car. Using a thermal imaging device, they observed the firearm to have a heat signature significantly higher than its surroundings, indicating it had recently been held by a person. Initial ballistics testing indicated that nine shell casings found at the scene of the fatal shooting were fired from the recovered gun, prosecutors said.
Electronic monitoring devices worn by both Diggs and Snow placed each in the area of 425 Old Colony Ave. at the time of the murder, and Peters was found to be in possession of 19 baggies containing crack cocaine, prosecutors said.
“Some cases come together within a few hours, while others take years to solve,” Conley said. “But Suffolk prosecutors and Boston Police work closely on every single one to achieve the best possible result. Whether it’s on the street or in the grand jury, we don’t rest until the case is solved.”
Matos was represented by attorney John Galvin and will return to court on Jan. 12. Diggs, Peters, and Snow are represented by attorneys William White, Victoria Kelleher, and Aviva Jeruchim and will return to court on Jan. 4.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
