BOSTON, January 10, 2018— Three men were held without bail today for their roles in the murder of Joshua Briggs inside a Boston hotel room, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOHN “SPICE” COLLINS (D.O.B. 10/16/93), ERRIN “DUBDUB” CRAWFORD, Jr., (D.O.B. 09/05/88), and MICHAEL “BATS” REYNOLDS (D.O.B. 10/10/93) were arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court on indictments charging first-degree murder and three counts each of home invasion and armed robbery.   Collins and Reynolds are additionally charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.  At the request of Assistant District Attorney Thomas Flanagan of the DA’s Homicide Unit, Clerk Magistrate Lisa Medeiros ordered all three men held without bail.

Each of the defendants was previously arraigned in South Boston Municipal Court on charges of armed robbery and home invasion in the weeks following Briggs’ Oct. 17 murder and have remained held on high bail.  They were subsequently indicted, and today’s proceedings move their cases to Suffolk Superior Court, where they will be adjudicated.

A fourth man, JAMES M. COLEMAN, Jr. (D.O.B. 10/24/91), faces arraignment on the same charges Friday.

Flanagan told the court that Collins and Crawford were among a group that was drinking, smoking, and socializing with Briggs inside a room at the Hotel Inn Express on Boston Street on the night of Oct. 16 and into the early morning hours of Oct. 17.  As the night went on, Collins twice picked fights with Briggs, after which he and other members of the group were ordered to leave by hotel security.

Prosecutors said Collins and Crawford, along with Reynolds and two others, later returned to the room brandishing firearms.  The men allegedly ordered Briggs and two other men to the ground and demanded two guns they believed to be hidden in the hotel room.  In addition to the two guns that were stolen, the men also took jewelry and cash from one of the men.  During the armed intrusion, Briggs was shot in the area of the upper shoulder and neck and died of his injuries. 

Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors identified the defendants through hotel surveillance footage, witness statements, and other evidence.

Elise McConnell is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.  Collins is represented Ed Hayden, Crawford by David Grimaldi, and Reynolds by Blake Rubin.  They return to court Jan. 28.

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