Continued Investigation Yields Murder Charge in July Homicide

BOSTON, Nov. 6, 2017—A man charged in the homicide of 32-year-old Dennis Parham was ordered held without bail at his arraignment in Roxbury Municipal Court today, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

CHARLES WILLIAMS (D.O.B. 8/24/79) of Boston’s South End was arraigned on charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm amid an ongoing grand jury investigation into Parham’s July 15 shooting death at the Lenox Street Housing Development.

In addition to holding him without bail, Judge David Poole ordered Williams to return to court on Dec. 1.

Williams was identified in the course of the continuing investigation by Boston Police homicide detectives on the street and Suffolk homicide prosecutors behind the closed doors of the Suffolk County Grand Jury. Evidence including video footage and vehicle rental information suggests that Williams – who is unusually tall at about 6’ 8” in height – and another man opened fire on Parham, causing fatal injuries, at about 10:50 pm.

Williams was taken into custody in Brighton yesterday. At the time of his arrest, he allegedly possessed a firearm for which he had no license. He will face additional charges for that firearm in Brighton Municipal Court.

At a sentencing hearing today in an unrelated homicide prosecution, MICHAEL DeLEON (D.O.B. 4/23/79) of Lynn was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years for the Dec. 10, 2015, murder of Cristy Johnson on Waite Street in Revere. A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted him Oct. 30 of second-degree murder and armed assault with intent to murder for the near-fatal shooting of a surviving victim during that encounter.

Assistant District Attorney Tara Burdman is leading the grand jury investigation into Dennis Parham’s homicide. Assistant District Attorneys David Fredette and Philip Cheng prosecuted DeLeon at trial.

 

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