A Mattapan man was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday for the 2011 shooting death of his neighbor.
Prosecutors said 39-year-old Kendrick Clark shot Shawn Flores, 29, multiple times in the chest during an argument on the night of Sept. 22, 2011 on the front porch of the Abbot Street rooming house in which they both lived.
Witnesses testified that Flores identified Clark as his killer in his dying breath, the Suffolk County district attorney’s office said.
District Attorney Daniel F. Conley lauded the role of the witnesses in a press release following the conviction.
“The help of witnesses at and near the scene was crucial in holding this defendant accountable for the life he took,” Conley said. “Without it, Mr. Flores’ loved ones might still be waiting and wondering instead of knowing that justice was done.”
Clark fled to North Carolina after the killing, but he was tracked down and apprehended by Boston police and US Marshals, Conley’s office said.
Clark will be sentenced tomorrow, the DA’s office said. He faces a mandatory life sentence, though Massachusetts law allows for the possibility of parole for second-degree murder convicts.
From the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, Jan. 28:
BOSTON, Jan. 28, 2014—A Mattapan man was convicted of second-degree murder today for shooting 29-year-old Shawn Flores to death before fleeing to North Carolina, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
KENDRICK CLARK (D.O.B. 3/19/74) faces a mandatory life term when he is sentenced tomorrow morning.
“Throughout their ordeal, Mr. Flores’ family has been a source of inspiration to police and prosecutors alike,” Conley said. “Even in the depth of their grief, their grace and dignity has been remarkable. I hope this verdict and the process that led to it provide them some sense of justice and closure.”
During the seven-day trial, Assistant District Attorney David Fredette of the DA’s Homicide Unit introduced evidence and testimony at that Clark and Flores were residents of the same Abbott Street rooming house when they became embroiled in a conflict on the night of Sept. 22, 2011.
Testimony established that Clark shot Flores repeatedly in the chest at about 9:20 p.m., causing mortal injuries, then fled the area. No one witnessed the fatal shooting, but Flores made a dying declaration that Clark had shot him. Witnesses relayed that information to Boston Police, who undertook an extensive search for the suspect.
That search ultimately led members of the Boston Police Fugitive and Apprehension Unit and US Marshals to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Clark was apprehended while hiding out in a Super 8 Motel in late October. He was then extradited to Massachusetts.
“The help of witnesses at and near the scene was crucial in holding this defendant accountable for the life he took,” Conley said. “Without it, Mr. Flores’ loved ones might still be waiting and wondering instead of knowing that justice was done.”
Kara Hayes was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Clark was represented by attorney Michael Bourbeau. Judge Patrick Brady will sentence Clark tomorrow at 11:00 in courtroom 815 of Suffolk Superior Court.
