BOSTON, March 5, 2015— A former employee at a Boston school was arraigned today on charges that he tried to murder a student in Roxbury last night, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
SHAUN HARRISON (D.O.B. 6/9/59) was charged in Roxbury Municipal Court with armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Assistant District Attorney David Bradley of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit requested that Harrison be held on $750,000 bail. Judge David Poole set bail in the amount of $250,000 and ordered Harrison to wear a stay away and have no contact with the victim, wear a GPS monitor, and remain on home confinement in the event that he is released on bail.
Also arraigned today were:
- DANTE LARA (D.O.B. 2/3/91) of Cambridge, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, who was held on $25,000 bail and had his bail revoked in an open case in Suffolk Superior Court;
- WILSON PEGUERO (D.O.B. 6/30/91) of Dorchester, charged with possession of a Class D substance with intent to distribute, who was held on $1,000 bail and had his bail revoked on an open case in West Roxbury Municipal Court; and
- OSCAR PENA (D.O.B. 10/6/95) of Dorchester, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, who was held on $1,000 bail and had his probation revoked on an unrelated case.
Bradley told the court that Harrison ran a marijuana distribution enterprise and had enlisted the victim, a 17-year-old male, to work for him until a dispute arose between them.
On Tuesday evening, Bradley said, the two left Harrison’s Pompeii Street residence and were walking on Magazine Street at about 7:15 when Harrison produced a handgun, pointed it at the back of the victim’s head, and fired. Harrison allegedly fled the scene on foot. Surveillance footage from a nearby business captured the incident.
The victim was transported to Boston Medical Center and is expected to survive his injuries.
Boston Police detectives investigating the shooting travelled to Harrison’s residence, where they observed Lara, Peguero, and Pena leaving the building. Officers detained the men, found they were in possession of marijuana, firearms, and a police scanner. Their connection to Harrison and his alleged drug enterprise remain under investigation, but two of them bore tattoos similar to one Harrison has and prosecutors believe they were present at the residence to remove evidence.
Based on evidence developed by Boston Police throughout Tuesday night and into yesterday evening, including statements Harrison made to detectives, Harrison was arrested last night and terminated from his school employment. The investigation into his alleged drug ring remains very active, Conley said.
Harrison was represented today by attorney Kernahan Buck. He will return to court on April 6.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
