Murder Defendant Slashed Victim’s Tire, Then Went to Retrieve Handgun, Prosecutor Says

BOSTON, April 4, 2018— A Dorchester man was held without bail at his arraignment today in the Valentine’s Day murder of 37-year-old Tarek Mroue following a dispute in traffic, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

TYRONE WORRELL, 39, was arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. At the request of Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Hickman of the DA’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Edward Curley ordered that Worrell continue to be held without bail, as he has since his Feb. 16 arraignment in Roxbury Municipal Court in connection with Mroue’s shooting death. Today’s proceedings move his case to Suffolk Superior Court, where it will be adjudicated.

Hickman told the court that on the evening of Feb. 14, Mroue was driving in the area of Dudley Square when a passenger in his vehicle exchanged words in traffic with Worrell, who was also driving in the area. Worrell then began to follow Mroue’s pickup truck.

The victim parked in the area of Winthrop Street and entered a residence in the area while his passenger remained inside the truck.

While the victim was away from his vehicle, Worrell allegedly used a box-cutter to slash the truck’s front right tire before returning to his own vehicle. The truck’s passenger exited and threw a tire iron at Worrell’s vehicle as he began to drive away. Worrell then returned and slashed the rear right tire before fleeing the area, prosecutors said.

Mroue emerged from the residence and entered his vehicle. Worrell then returned to the area on foot minutes later. As Mroue began to step out of his vehicle to speak to him, Worrell opened fire, fatally striking Mroue in the back of the head, prosecutors said.

Boston Police were given a description of the shooter and his vehicle and observed the car operating on Warren Avenue approximately seven minutes after the shooting. The vehicle was stopped on Dale Street and Worrell was taken into custody. He was positively identified by a witness as the man who shot Mroue.

Elise McConnell is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Worrell is represented by John Galvin. He returns to court May 24.

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