BOSTON, April 11, 2017—A man convicted of murder today in the shooting death of his brother, Tasfa Wallace, 17 years ago faces life in prison at his sentencing tomorrow, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted TIMI WALLACE (D.O.B. 7/22/72) of second-degree murder in connection with his brother’s March 26, 2000, shooting death on Levant Street.  He had been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder.  Judge Linda Giles is expected to impose the mandatory term of life in prison with the possibility of parole when Wallace is sentenced tomorrow morning.

Assistant District Attorney Ursula Knight and Philip Cheng presented evidence and testimony over the course of four days proving Wallace’s participation in Tasfa Wallace’s homicide. He was observed directly outside Tasfa Wallace’s apartment, moments before the victim was shot multiple times through the apartment’s front door in what prosecutors argued was the culmination of a drug-related dispute, and he was observed leaving the building immediately after the shooting. Among the witnesses at trial was the now-retired detective who was the lead investigator on the 17-year-old murder.

“More than 17 years after his life was taken, Tasfa Wallace’s loved ones still mourn his loss,” Conley said. “We hope they can take some satisfaction in this jury’s verdict and some comfort in knowing that two generations of police and prosecutors did not rest until they delivered justice on their behalf.”

Shortly afterward, investigators obtained warrants charging Timi Wallace and a third brother, NICKOYAN WALLACE, with Tasfa Wallace’s murder, and additional federal warrants charged them both with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. While sought by local and federal authorities, both men took part in the armed robbery of a Rhode Island gun store.  Nickoyan was apprehended in September 2000 and Timi in 2004. Both were convicted of charges related to the Rhode Island robbery and sentenced to lengthy federal prison terms.  Nickoyan’s motion to dismiss the murder charge against him on speedy trial grounds was granted by a Superior Court judge, whose decision was reversed by the Massachusetts Appeals Court and then reinstated by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2015. A similar motion by Timi was denied.

Wallace is currently serving a sentence of 25 years in federal prison for his conviction on charges stemming from the Rhode Island robbery.

Assistant District Attorney Sarah Lewis assisted in appellate arguments on the Wallace case before the MAC and SJC.  Katherine Moran is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.  Wallace is represented by Norman Zalkind.  Sentencing will take place at or around 10:00 a.m. tomorrow in courtroom 907 of Suffolk Superior Court.

–30–

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