Homicide Watch Boston

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.

UPDATE: Jan. 26 at 9:15 p.m. to include victim’s identity

A man was shot and killed on Callender Street near the intersection with Boyden Street in Dorchester on Friday night, police said.

Trevain Keene, 22, was shot shortly before 6:30 p.m., according to a police statement. Authorities said he sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives are investigating the case, and anyone who may know something about the shooting can call police at (617) 343-4470. People can report tips anonymously at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).

See a Boston Police Department press release below:

UPDATE: Victim Identified in Death Investigation in the area of 82 Callender Street
January 26, 2014

At about 6:23pm, on Friday, January 24, 2014, officers from District B-3 (Mattapan) responded to an outside scene (generated by Shot Spotter) for a person shot in the area of 82 Callender Street. On arrival, officers located a male victim in his twenties, suffering from what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, suffering from life threatening injuries, was pronounced deceased on the scene. The victim has since been identified as Trevain Keene, 22, of Boston.

The Boston Police Homicide Unit is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470.

Community members wanting to assist this investigation in an anonymous manner may do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identity of those who wish to aid this investigation anonymously.

A man was fatally shot near the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Evelyn Street in Mattapan Saturday night, police said.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, was shot at about 8:13 p.m., police said in blog post.

Responding officers found the man with a life-threatening gunshot wound, police said. He was taken to Boston Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

A police spokeswoman would not provide any further information on the incident Sunday afternoon.

From BPDNews.com, Jan. 19, 2014:

At about 8:13pm, on Saturday, January 18, 2014, officers from District B-3 (Mattapan) responded to a call for a person shot in the area of Blue Hill Avenue and Evelyn Street. On arrival, officers observed a male victim suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound. The victim suffering from life threatening injuries was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.

The Boston Police Homicide Unit is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470.

Individuals who wish to provide information in an anonymous manner may do so by calling our CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS. You may also text ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).

Police are still searching for suspects in the April 28 shooting death of 23-year-old Malcolm Campbell, whom officers found with gunshot wounds near the corner of Howard Avenue and Quincy Street in Dorchester, according to the Boston Globe.

Campbell was taken to Boston Medical Center following the shooting, and later died there.

Police are still searching for a suspect in the murder of 25-year-old Joel D. Phillips, who was shot dead April 20 on Copeland Street in Dorchester, according to Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

Boston police are still seeking suspects in the May 3 shooting deaths of 23-year-old Mibsam Wiggins and 22-year-old Tremayne Jackson.

The two men were found shot around 1:30 p.m. as they sat in a car parked in a Warren Street Walgreens parking lot, according to the Boston Globe.

Wiggins was pronounced dead at the scene and Jackson was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he later died.

More than eight months after 22-year-old Clifton Townsend was shot dead on Dudley Street in Roxbury, police are still searching for his murderer.

Police found Townsend suffering from gunshot wounds around 8:30 p.m. April 17 and he was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he later died, according to the Boston Globe.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case of accused Boston Marrathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, according to a notice filed in US District Court on Jan. 30.

Tsarnaev, 20, faces a 30-count federal indictment. The charges against him include the use of a weapon of mass destruction in the April 15 bombing that killed 8-year-old Martin Richard, 23-year-old Lingzi Lu and 29-year-old Krystle Campbell.

In its notice, the US Attorney’s office cited the severity of the crime, premeditation in its execution and Tsarnaev’s lack of remorse as reasons he should be put to death if convicted.

“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev received asylum from the United States; obtained citizenship and enjoyed the freedoms of a United States citizen; and then betrayed his allegiance to the United States by killing and maiming people in the United States,” the notice said.

If Tsarnaev is indeed put to death, he would become the first person since 1947 to receive capital punishment in Massachusetts.

The announcement elicited mixed reactions from Massachusetts politicians and victims of the attack.

In a gubernatorial debate hosted by the Boston Globe, all five Democratic candidates said they did not support the prosecution’s decision.

“I do not believe in the death penalty,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said.

When pressed to address capital punishment in the specific case of Tsarnaev, she shook her head and reaffirmed her answer. The other candidates voiced similar explanations for their disapproval.

The most prominent Republican gubernatorial candidate, Charlie Baker,  told reporters in response to the debate that he supported the government’s decision.

Jared Clowery, a 36-year-old Millville man whose legs were badly burnt in the bombing, told the Globe the decision does not concern him.

“I’m moving on with my life. . . . It has no bearing on my life whatsoever,” he said.

Tsarnaev was arrested April 19 after a four-day manhunt that culminated in a shootout in Watertown that killed his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who is also implicated in the bombing, according to the Boston Globe.

Tsarnaev pleaded innocent to all charges on July 10, when he was arraigned before survivors of the bombing and their families.

Yerri Perez, the 22-year-old Medford man accused of fatally shooting Edward Villalona in March, had a history of gun-related convictions, according to police reports.

Prosecutors claim Perez shot the 33-year-old Villalona during a confrontation on Mindon Street in Roxbury around 8:30 a.m. on March 31. He was arrested in August and pleaded innocent to all charges.

Perez, who is being held at Suffolk County Jail, is accused of murder and carrying a firearm without a license – his alleged second offense of that kind – among other charges.

In April 2010, officers arrested Perez and an associate at Mozart and Centre streets in Jamaica Plain on firearm charges, according to the police report. The officers reported that they observed a large group of people “acting suspiciously”  in a nearby park and that when they approached Perez he tried to leave the area on a bicycle.

When an officer blocked his escape, Perez pulled a handgun from his waistband, the report said. The officer pushed him into a fence, forcing Perez to drop the gun, and he was arrested.

Perez, who was already on probation at the time of his April 2010 arrest, was convicted on four possession of firearm and ammunition charges.

In addition to the charges brought against him for Villalona’s murder, Perez is also currently facing a separate charge of possession and trafficking of more than 200 grams of heroin, according to court documents.

Devone Suber, 27, waved politely to the judge as he entered a Suffolk Superior Court room on Jan. 23 to argue that police illegally searched him prior to his arrest.

Suber is accused of fatally shooting Maiqui Hernandez, a Harvard University security guard, last May.

Police arrested him hours after he allegedly shot Hernandez, a 35-year-old father of two, in the hallway of the Prentiss Street apartment where Hernandez lived, according to a statement from the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors claim that Suber left the apartment complex after arguing with Hernandez shortly before 1 a.m. on May 3. He returned less than an hour later with a gun, opened Hernandez’s apartment door and shot him in the chest, the district attorney’s office said.

In a June 4 statement, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said the crime “shocks the conscience.”

“The argument was over. The conflict was finished. And yet the evidence suggests he came back and shot this man who posed no threat and offered no reason to hurt him,” he said.

Suber sat quietly throughout the short hearing on Thursday while his attorney, Eduardo A. Masferrer, filed a motion claiming that police violated Suber’s rights when they searched him and his car without a warrant. Masferrer is seeking to suppress all evidence gleaned from those searches.

In an affidavit filed alongside the motion, Suber said that on May 3 he was walking along Annunciation Road in the South End when a police cruiser pulled alongside him.

Two officers got out of the car and asked him for his name and identification, according to Suber’s affidavit.

Based on the officers’ demeanor and language, “I did not think I could simply walk away,” Suber wrote.

The officers patted down his jacket and found a box of ammunition, which Suber claimed he had found in Mattapan. Officers then searched his car without his consent,, the affidavit said.

Suber wrote that he was taken to a police station and officers read him his rights from a police form that he did not understand.

“I tried to explain that to them,” Suber wrote in the affidavit. “I genuinely did not understand what they were telling me about my rights.”

Suber’s lawyer, Masferrer, said his client denies any wrongdoing and is upset at the charges.

Suber, who is currently being held at Suffolk County Jail, is charged with first-degree Murder, armed assault with intent to murder and various firearm charges.

In court filings, prosecutors alleged that on May 3 Suber also assaulted a female victim with a gun. It was not immediately clear whether that alleged assault was part of the same incident that led to Hernandez’s death.

Suber pleaded innocent to all charges at his arraignment July 17.

He is being tried as an armed career criminal, a status that could carry a longer sentence if he is convicted, according to court documents.

Court records show that in August 2007 Suber was convicted of aggravated assault and battery and in December 2005 he was convicted of possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.

The following is a press statement from the Suffolk district attorney’s office:

BOSTON, June 4, 2013—Maiqi Hernandez, a 35-year-old father of two and a security guard at Harvard University, was shot dead by a man angry over their earlier exchange of words, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office said today.

DEVONE SUBER (D.O.B. 2/4/86) was arraigned on a murder charge today, almost exactly one month after he allegedly shot Hernandez to death from the hallway of the Prentiss Street apartment building in which the victim lived.

Suber has been in custody since a short time after the May 3 slaying – Boston Police investigating the shooting arrested him with a box of live bullets leaving the nearby Annunciation Road housing development. Prosecutors recommended he be held on $25,000 cash bail at his May 3 arraignment for unlawful possession of ammunition; bail was set at $3,500. Today, prosecutors asked that he be held without bail given the upgrade in charges, and Judge David Poole granted that request.

Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, chief of the DA’s Homicide Unit, told the court that Suber and Hernandez had a brief verbal altercation in the building prior to the shooting, and that Suber left the scene and came back with a gun. At about 12:40 that morning, he allegedly opened the victim’s apartment door and shot Hernandez in the chest, killing him.

“It shocks the conscience,” Conley said. “The argument was over. The conflict was finished. And yet the evidence suggests he came back and shot this man who posed no threat and offered no reason to hurt him.”

Multiple Boston Police units responded to the scene and received a description of the assailant. Officers soon spotted Suber, who matched that description, in the area of Annunciation Road, about a block away from the crime scene. When they pulled up to speak with him, he allegedly made the spontaneous statement that “I found it. It’s not mine. I found it in Mattapan.”

The officers pat-frisked him and recovered a box containing 45 live rounds of .357 caliber ammunition. That ammunition shared the same class characteristics of the round that killed Hernandez, Zabin said.

Suber was represented by attorney Eduardo Masferrer. He will return to court on July 19.

 

A copy of Suber’s indictment has been added below.