Mariano Malave | Homicide Watch Boston

Reddicks sentenced to life in prison for Malave murder

Gail Waterhouse — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 17:06:16 -0500

By Diana Novakovic

Charles Reddicks was sentenced to life in prison Friday morning after he was convicted yesterday of second-degree murder in the April 27, 2012 shooting death of 25-year-old Mariano Malave in Jamaica Plain.

Reddicks was also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of ammunitions.

In a full courtroom on Thursday, Reddicks' family members were seated in the first row and some could not hold back tears as the conviction came down.

On Friday, several of Malave's family members delivered emotional statements about Mariano before Reddicks was formally sentenced.

Mariano Malave

"I'll never have the opportunity to talk to him again, to share stories and jokes," Malave's cousin told the court. "I'm grateful for the 25 years we had, but we won't get 25 more. We'll never be able to see him grow old, to have kids of his own."

Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Linda Giles imposed the mandatory sentence for second-degree murder, which is life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

The sentencing came after more than a week of testimony and about three days of deliberations.

Reddicks convicted in 2012 murder of Mariano Malave

Gail Waterhouse — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:35:08 -0500

By Alexandra Malloy

A jury has convicted 21-year-old Charles Reddicks of murdering Boston man Mariano Malave in April 0f 2012. The Dorchester resident was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and other crimes after he shot 25-year-old Malave multiple times on April 27, 2012 in Jamaica Plain.

The verdict came after over three days of deliberations, but just four hours after a judge told the jury to begin deliberations anew after one juror needed to be replaced.

Mariano Malave

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the jury foreperson announced the jury had a question. A deliberating juror had expressed a personal reason that rendered her unable to continue her duty as a juror.

At a sidebar, Judge Linda Giles questioned the juror about her concern and reasons for a possible dismissal. The juror said she was distressed because the trial had prevented her to be able to make DCF-supervised visits with her daughter.

After further discussion, Judge Giles decided to excuse the juror due to her lack of willingness to participate in deliberations.

"She's just a very unhappy person because she hasn't visited her child in three weeks," Giles said at the sidebar.

The court picked an alternate juror to take her place and Judge Giles told the jury they needed to begin deliberations again from the beginning.

By 2:30 p.m., the jury had returned their verdict, convicting Reddicks of second-degree murder and possession of a loaded firearm. He was found not guilty on the armed robbery charge.

Reddicks faces a possible life sentence in jail on Friday when he appears in court again for sentencing.

Jury deliberations reset in Reddicks murder trial

Gail Waterhouse — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:59:25 -0500

By Alexandra Malloy, Owen Pence Miharu Sugie and Catherine Lindsay

Jury deliberations began anew Thursday morning in the case of Charles Reddicks, a 21-year-old Jamaica Plain man accused of shooting and killing Mariano Malave in April of 2012.

A jury had been deliberating since late Tuesday morning, but when one juror needed to be replaced, the jury had to start deliberations from the beginning. Reddicks, who is charged with first-degree murder, along with armed robbery and other crimes, allegedly shot Malave in the head on April 27 over marijuana.

The prosecution brought multiple witnesses against Reddicks, including Ian Follett, who reportedly introduced Reddicks to Malave.

Mariano Malave

Follett, who was granted immunity by the police in exchange for full cooperation regarding information on the case, was introduced to Reddicks through a mutual connection. Follett and Reddicks struck up a business relationship in which Reddicks distributed marijuana to Follett, sometimes multiple times a week, who would then redistribute the product and take a fraction for his own consumption.

Early in his freshman year of high school, Follett began buying from Malave, who lived in the same neighborhood as Follett. However Follett re-kindled his partnership with Reddicks when Reddicks agreed to “front” him 2 ounces of marijuana, allowing Follett time to pay Reddicks the $500-600 he owed for the product.

Not long after, in April of 2012 after Follett had put Reddicks in contact with Malave, Reddicks asked Follett if Malave was known to carry a gun.

Defense attorney Rosemary Scapicchio questioned Follett intensely regarding the days leading up to the murder, pointing to discrepancies in the timeframe of events in Follett’s two testimonies, o. Additionally, Scapicchio pointed out that Follett had made no mention in his grand jury testimony of Reddicks’ asking if Malave had a gun, but seemed to remember it clearly approximately three and a half years later.

Witnesses from the apartment building on Hyde Park Avenue where Malave was shot also testified to what they heard the evening of the fatal shooting. A heard graphic testimony from Dr. Katherine Lindstrom who works for the state medical examiner's office. Lindstrom testified about the three gunshot wounds Malave suffered, and described how the bullet to his head affected his body, with those effects ultimately being fatal.