Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today announced the arrests and impending arraignment of four suspects in a vicious Mother’s Day beating that left a former South End man with lasting brain damage and nearly killed him.
The four were arrested this weekend and will be formally charged with mayhem, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and unarmed robbery in the Boston Municipal Court tomorrow. If convicted of the lead charge, they face up to 20 years in state prison.
“Aside from the sheer brutality of the attack, what’s disturbing here is that, as far as we know, the suspects and victim had no connection prior to these events,” Conley said. “What happened to this man could have happened to anyone with the bad fortune to be seated next to them. The close work between police and prosecutors since that night was a shared effort to see that it doesn’t happen again.”
“It’s important to send a clear and strong message that violent crime of this nature will not be tolerated within our city,” Davis said. “The senseless and savage nature of this beating would suggest that those responsible have little regard for the value of human life. I want to commend the investigators and the members of DA’s office assigned to this case for their dogged and determined efforts in bringing the individuals responsible to justice. To the victim and his family, we hope these arrests provide a small level of comfort and relief.”
Facing arraignment tomorrow are:
1. JOHN BENOIT (D.O.B. 8/12/87), a.k.a. JOHNNY DANG, of Roxbury;
2. JUMOKE MARSHALL (D.O.B. 7/27/87), a.k.a. JUMOKE ZION, of Roxbury;
3. ERIC WALLACE (D.O.B. 9/14/90) of Everett; and
4. A MALE JUVENILE from Roxbury who was 15 at the time of the incident and is charged as a juvenile.
Evidence developed in the course of an extensive and ongoing investigation led by Assistant District Attorney John Lacey of Conley’s Special Prosecutions Unit and Boston Police Sgt. Det. Michael Talbot suggests that the four men and the 29-year-old victim first crossed paths in the early morning hours of May 10 in Boston’s Chinatown.
Specifically, the evidence suggests that the suspects, the victim, and another man were seated at a table in the New Golden Gate restaurant on Beach Street at about 2:20 that morning. Before the food was ordered, the victim and sixth man left the restaurant to smoke a cigarette.
When they returned, the evidence suggests, the suspects had eaten most of the food and demanded money from the victim to pay the bill. The victim refused. Words were exchanged and the victim and his associate left the restaurant to avoid a confrontation.
The suspects followed the men outside and surrounded the two men near the intersection of Beach and Tyler streets. They again demanded money and the victim again refused. He walked away from them again.
Investigators believe that the four suspects followed the victim and other man with the intention of robbing them, converging on the pair near a shuttered lounge at 265 Tremont St. Evidence suggests that one or more of the suspects stomped on the victim’s head more than half a dozen times, fracturing his skull, cracking his eye sockets, and tearing his lower lip open before stealing his wallet.
The man who was walking with the victim fled the scene while the suspects punched and kicked the victim. Investigators wish to speak with him and any other witnesses to the attack; Boston Police District One detectives may be reached at 617-343-4571.
In addition to his fractures and contusions, the victim was left with bruising and swelling to his brain, memory loss, and permanent cognitive damage. At the time, he was a resident of Boston’s South End; he has since left Massachusetts.
