BOSTON, Oct. 17, 2014—A Roxbury man was arraigned yesterday on firearm charges after his arrest in Mozart Park by Boston Police officers on patrol in the wake of a non-fatal shooting, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

EMMANUEL PENA (D.O.B. 3/26/96) was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and carrying a loaded firearm.  Assistant District Attorney Caitlin Fitzgerald requested bail of $10,000 and that Pena be ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device, abide by a curfew, and stay away from the area where the offense occurred.  Judge Kenneth Fiandaca imposed $5,000 bail and all the requested conditions. 

Fitzgerald told the court that Boston Police officers were patrolling the area of Mozart Park in Jamaica Plain Wednesday after a person was shot on nearby Centre Street earlier that evening.

Shortly before 8:20 p.m., they observed six males in the park, all of whom scattered when officers drove near.  Five members of the group walked in the direction of police, while the sixth individual, later identified as Pena, put his hand to his waist as he turned to walk in the opposite direction, prosecutors said.  Based on their training and experience, officers believed that Pena may have been attempting to secure a firearm in his waistband as he turned away from police.

Two officers entered the park to follow Pena on foot as he walked in the direction of Mozart Street; two additional officers drove their cruiser toward the same location.

When Pena saw the cruiser, prosecutors said, he abruptly turned around and began walking deeper into the park toward a large fence.  Once there, he allegedly reached toward his waistband, removed a silver object that officers believed to be a firearm, and tossed the object over the fence into a Preising Street yard.

Pena was then taken into custody without incident.

Officers searched the yard behind the fence and discovered a silver Smith & Wesson Airweight .38 revolver with fresh dirt on it and a divot in the dirt next to it, prosecutors said. Officers using a thermal imaging device observed that its heat signature was higher than the area around it, suggesting that it had recently been carried and discarded. The weapon was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.

While being transported for booking, Pena allegedly made statements that he had knowledge of the earlier shooting and was friends with the intended victim.

“If his intent was to retaliate for that earlier shooting, then Boston Police may well have saved a life when they made this arrest,” Conley said.

Pena is represented by attorney Christopher Belezos.  He will return to court Nov. 26.

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