BOSTON, August 20, 2018— A Boston man who shot a gang rival and an innocent bystander when he opened fire onboard a train at Maverick MBTA station was sentenced to prison today, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ROGELIO ALVARADO, 23, faced sentencing today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury last week found him guilty of two counts of assault and battery by discharging a firearm and single counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm and unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm. Assistant District Attorney Stacey Pichardo of the DA’s Gang Unit recommended a term of 8 ½ to 10 ½ years in state prison. Judge Kenneth Salinger sentenced Alvarado to five to six years in state prison.

During the course of three days of testimony, Pichardo proved that on Jan. 19, 2016, Alvarado – an MS-13 gang member living in East Boston at the time – boarded an MBTA Blue Line train at Airport station. Onboard the train, he became involved in a verbal confrontation with a man he believed to be associated with a rival gang. During the altercation, Alvarado pulled out a firearm. The two men struggled for the gun before the victim attempted to flee to the opposite end of the train. Alvarado then fired at least two shots at the victim, striking him in the torso. A second man, who had huddled with other terrified passengers, was grazed by a bullet above the eyebrow.

Shortly after the shooting, the train pulled into Maverick Station, and passengers fled the train. The passenger who was struck collapsed on the platform.

Alvarado and the first victim continued to fight for control of the firearm on the train. Alvarado retained it, made good his escape, and left the area in a taxi. He later fled to Huntington, New York, where he was arrested on July 12, 2017.

Edith Ayuso was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Pichardo was assisted at trial by Tiffany Albanese, a law student in the DA’s Gang Unit who served as second chair under Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:03. Alvarado was represented by attorney John Tardif.

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