Jonathan Dos Santos | Homicide Watch Boston

Friends, neighbors remember Jonathan Dos Santos

Megan McKee — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 11:36:22 -0400

As hundreds filed in for his wake two miles away, a sidewalk memorial for Jonathan “JoJo” Dos Santos in a residential area on Dorchester’s Washington Street marked the spot where two teens allegedly gunned down the 16-year-old while he was riding his bike one week earlier.

Stuffed animals, hand-written tributes, and a sea of candles surrounded a utility pole in the area prosecutors say 16-year-old Dushawn Taylor-Gennis and 14-year-old Raeshawn Moody ambushed and killed Dos Santos in broad daylight just hours after Dos Santos was honored for his academic achievements at McKinley Preparatory High School.

"It's heartbreaking when you lose a child," said Patricia Charles, 64, who stopped by the memorial. She said she didn't know Dos Santos personally, but knew of his reputation as a good sports player, and pointed to his family's house which is less than a block from where the high school freshman was killed.

Dos Santos' family's house is visible from the site the teenager was killed.

She talked about raising four of her own children in the neighborhood, and the pressures kids face in a city where officials say 45 gangs are active.

"It's not just the two of them, believe me," Charles said of the teenagers suspected in Dos Santos' death. She said many teens joining gangs must prove themselves by committing violent acts to appear strong and feared on the street, and those acts are incited by a larger group that dictates the violence.

Charles walked to Dos Santos' wake at St. Peter’s Church on Bowdoin Street, where a line that snaked down the street in front of the church.

A solemn crowd waited to pay tribute to Dos Santos. Teenagers congregated around the grounds and on its front steps, some silent in contemplation, and many wearing buttons emblazoned with "Peace for JoJo" and the teen's photo. Across the street, shop owners and customers from a smattering of small businesses watched the specter of Dos Santos’ wake, and the massive outpouring of mourners.

Mourners lined the street waiting to attend Dos Santos' wake.

Scattered among the mourners were men wearing black shirts with "Outreach Worker" printed on the back. Shawn Webb, the director of Boston's Streetworker Program, watched the crowd as he oversaw the 20 outreach workers he said were keeping peace at the site.

Although he described Dos Santos' wake as "relatively calm," Webb said that within the two hours of the event's start, his outreach workers had mediated about 25 disputes, due to the "cross section of gang-affiliated people and gang members who had a relationship with [Dos Santos]." He said he didn't know whether Dos Santos himself was in a gang.

Outside Dos Santos' wake.

Elise Santiago, 17, said she was good friends with Dos Santos.

"He had a great sense of humor," she said. She, Dos Santos, and other friends often hung out at the South Shore Plaza, CambridgeSide Galleria, and Dave & Busters, where Dos Santos, who Santiago described as "looking 13," tried to pass himself off as an 18-year-old so he and his friends could stay and play video games later into the night.

Dos Santos' murder shocked her, given the quiet of his neighborhood, a place she said the family chose to escape violence elsewhere.

"The family moved there for safety, to raise their kids," Santiago said. "Then he was killed."

If you knew Jonathan Dos Santos, we invite you to share memories of him below, or on his profile page.

Two teenagers held without bail in death of Jonathan Dos Santos

Megan McKee — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 19:12:35 -0400

A 16-year-old and 14-year-old were arraigned on murder charges June 15 after allegedly ambushing Dos Santos June 10 as he rode his bike in Dorchester. They were held without bail until their next hearing on July 15.

View the story "Two teenagers charged for murder in shooting death of 16-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos" on Storify

Two teens arrested for shooting death of Jonathan Dos Santos

Megan McKee — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 22:00:03 -0400

Two teenagers, 16-year-old Dushawn Taylor-Gannis and an unidentified 14-year-old, were arrested Saturday for the death of Jonathan Dos Santos, who was reportedly ambushed and shot to death while riding his bike on Fuller Street in Dorchester, Boston Police and the Suffolk Country District Attorney's office announced.

According to a DA press release, Taylor-Gannis and the 14-year-old will be arraigned Monday in Dos Santos' death for murder and unlawful firearm possession.

"In an abundance of caution given his age, authorities are withholding the 14-year-old juvenile's name until a criminal complaint issues on Monday morning," the DA's office said in the release. "Under Massachusetts law, juveniles charged with murder are exposed to the same penalties as adults and their cases are open to the public."

Multiple news vans were stationed outside the Boston Police Department this afternoon, as both Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans announced their arrests in a joint press conference.

BPD Commissioner William Evans (left) and Mayor Marty Walsh (middle, in blue) announcing the two arrests in the murder of Jonathan Dos Santos. (BPD photo)

“I want to recognize the tremendous work done by the men and women of the Boston Police Homicide Unit that led to the arrest of two suspects within four days of the incident," Evans said. "We asked community members to step up and help us identify those responsible for this senseless murder and they did. And, for their help, we are grateful.”

According to the Boston Globe, the arrests came about due to witness testimony, surveillance footage and help from unlikely sources, the teenagers' mothers:

Police had a good idea who fired the shots that killed 16-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos as he rode his bicycle down Fuller Street Wednesday evening, heading for his aunt’s.

The likely killers had been anything but careful, staging the ambush during daylight hours in full view of horrified neighbors. The incident was also captured on surveillance video.

The challenge was how to safely bring in the very young suspects — one of them just 14 — and to arrest them without risking harm to the boys or to officers or triggering further violence in an already fraught neighborhood.

So police turned to the boys’ mothers, and their mothers turned them in.

NECN is reporting that a fundraiser has been set in memory of Dos Santos, who was a student at McKinley Preparatory High School.

Jonathan Dos Santos (family photo)

According to a June 11 article in the Boston Globe, Dos Santos had confided just two months prior to his June 10 murder his reluctance to join a gang under pressure from his peers, and was worried about his decision's fallout.

In addition to his parents, the Globe talked to Dos Santos' 9-year-old sister, Jennifer Dos Santos, who recounted her relationship with her brother, and how he served as her protector.

The DA's full press release follows:

The two teens arrested today in connection with the June 10 shooting death of 16-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos are expected to be arraigned Monday in Dorchester Municipal Court on murder and firearms offenses. Under Massachusetts law, juveniles charged with murder are exposed to the same penalties as adults and their cases are open to the public. The older of the two is identified as DUSHAWN TAYLOR-GENNIS, 16, of Dorchester. In an abundance of caution given his age, authorities are withholding the 14-year-old juvenile's name until a criminal complaint issues on Monday morning. Additional details are expected at arraignment.

Jonathan Dos Santos, 16, ambushed and murdered while riding his bike

Megan McKee — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 14:00:25 -0400

Just two months after confiding his reluctance to join a gang and the fear of his decision's fallout, 16-year-old Jonathan Dos Santos was ambushed and shot to death Wednesday night while riding his bike in Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department and the Boston Globe.

Jonathan Dos Santos

Police said the shooters are in their late teens or early 20s and both were wearing green hooded sweatshirts on the night of the shooting.

The Globe had further details, saying one suspect's sweatshirt had white strings with a white shirt underneath. He was also wearing blue jeans and sneakers with yellow soles while the second suspect was wearing light-colored cargo pants and a baseball cap that featured cursive writing, a white visor, and a thick white letter on the cap's back.

"Everyone should be outraged when a 16-year-old on his bike gets shot,” Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement.

The Globe detailed how Dos Santos, a McKinley Preparatory High School student, tried to escape the violence of his surroundings.

Jonathan Dos Santos’s family moved into the three-decker on Fuller Street with hope that it would be safer than their old neighborhood. The 16-year-old decorated his room with mementos he was proud of: his certificate of graduation from fifth grade, a Boston neighborhood soccer league plaque, football trophies, a silver and blue 5K medal on a bright yellow ribbon.

But about two months ago, the teenager came to his basketball coach with a problem: People were hassling him, trying to get him to join a gang, the youth had said. He didn’t want to. But he was scared to go to school because he was afraid they would be looking for him at the train station.

On Wednesday night, two young men waited with guns drawn for Dos Santos to come riding his bicycle down Fuller Street in Dorchester, according to an official briefed on the investigation. When the teenager pedaled past, they opened fire, killing him.

“This was an ambush,” said the law enforcement official.

Dos Santos' uncle described how his nephew died in his arms. A witness told the Globe what he saw unfold:

One resident, a 52-year-old man who stepped out onto his porch to have a cigarette, said he saw two people chasing the teenager as he rode his bike down the street.

“They started shooting at him. They were coming up from behind him,’’ said the man, who declined to give his name for fear of retribution. “I think he knew after the second shot that someone was trying to hit him.’’

The teenager crashed his bicycle, one witness said, and as the shooters fled, residents ran to his aid.

The boy’s uncle, Arlindo Lopes Pinto, ran outside to help.

“He looked to me. His eyes were still open,” Pinto said. “I called his name. He didn’t say anything. I took my shirt and covered his eyes. He died in my hands. I just started crying.”

In addition to his grieving parents, Dos Santos leaves his 9-year-old sister, Jennifer Dos Santos, who adored her brother, and recounted their relationship to the Globe after his murder:

“You feel like you have someone to take care of you,” she said [of her brother].

Jennifer said she and her brother had pet names for each other in Cape Verdean Creole. For her ninth birthday, Jonathan gave her a Barbie doll she named Jayla.

“We just watch some scary movies sometimes and make some popcorn,” she said.

She said she learned something had happened to Jonathan when she heard her mother and her aunt speaking about him being at Boston Medical Center.

When asked why anyone would hurt Jonathan, Jennifer fell silent.

The full Boston Police Department press release follows:

At about 7:52 PM on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, officers assigned to District B-3 (Mattapan) responded to a radio call for shots fired in the area of Washington and Fuller Streets in Dorchester. On arrival, officers located a 16-year-old male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Boston Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Officers were initially looking for two suspects, both black males in their late teens or early twenties, wearing green hoodies who fled the area on foot on Washington Street towards Mora Street.

Mayor Walsh and Commissioner Evans were on scene and appealed to the community for help in solving this crime, “We’re combing the area looking for witnesses and looking for the public’s cooperation," Evans said, "Everyone should be outraged when a 16-year-old on his bike gets shot.”

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

Community members wishing to assist this investigation anonymously can 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 identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner.