BOSTON, April 19, 2012—A man already serving prison time on a gun conviction was arraigned today for the homicide of 21-year-old Demetrius Blocker, almost a year and a half after the young man was gunned down, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Acting on a request by Assistant District Attorney David Fredette of Conley’s Homicide Unit, Roxbury Municipal Court Judge Pamela Dashiell ordered KEITH HOBBS (D.O.B. 2/1/86) held without bail pending trial for Blocker’s Dec. 16, 2010, shooting death in the rear parking area of a Horadan Way building at about 4:30 p.m.

“A case can take days to solve or it can take years,” Conley said. “But the cases, like the victims, are never forgotten. I want to thank the police, prosecutors, media, and witnesses who wouldn’t give up on Mr. Blocker or his family. We’re in a much better position today to hold his killer accountable.”

Blocker is not believed to have been gang-involved Fredette said, and may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, “or, more likely, the victim of mistaken identity.” Fredette said Hobbs was arrested based on a positive identification as the individual who shot and killed Blocker. He is charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

At the time the murder warrant was lodged against him on April 17, Hobbs was serving a three-year state prison sentence following his Suffolk Superior Court conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.

Michael Schultz is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Hobbs is represented by attorney Keith Halpern. He will return to court on June 19.

 –30–

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