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Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis: deviants will ‘pay a price’ Hub murder rate soar

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis: deviants will ‘pay a price’Hub murder rate soars CRIME SCENE: A makeshift memorial in the form of graffiti covers the convenience store on Warren Street where a mother of four was gunned down Saturday. By O’Ryan Johnson  |   Wednesday, October 27, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Photo by Mark GarfinkelAs the city’s grim murder toll climbs, Boston cops are zeroing in on gangbangers to issue one-on-one and group warnings that there will be consequences for gun violence, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said yesterday. “Individuals who do this are going to pay a price,” Davis said. “There has been an uptick in violence and it’s concerning, to say the least. We have been working hard to target those individuals.” Davis said members of the Youth Violence Strike Force, known as the gang squad, have been going face-to-face with the city’s impact players after seven shootings — including three murders — rocked the city last weekend. The homicide toll this year is 59, compared to 41 at the same time last year. The last time there were 59 murdered by this date was 2007, when the city recorded a total of 66 homicides. In 2005, when the city reached a 10-year high with 75 homicides, Boston had notched 58 murders by the end of October. Yesterday, Ethel Berry- visited the Dorchester intersection where the city’s most recent homicide victim, her son Jermaine Berry, 30, was shot and killed Monday. “He was a good dad,” she said of Berry, who was the father of two boys. “He was a good person, too.” Ethel Berry identified her son’s body Monday night after cops came to her door. Detectives slid Crimestoppers pamphlets under the windshield wipers of cars along the street as she spoke feet from where her son was killed. Jermaine Berry had a lengthy arrest record, according to filings at Dorchester District Court. He had seven cases that included a 1997 arrest for assault and battery on a police officer, a 2003 assault and battery charge and a 2006 charge for carrying a firearm without a license. The dispositions of the cases were not available yesterday. Police said Berry was shot about 8 p.m. at Geneva Avenue and Waldeck Street. He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. A man shot early Saturday morning succumbed to his injuries yesterday, police said. He was not identified. Police said that shooting happened about 1:49 a.m. near Breezeway bar on Blue Hill Avenue. The victim was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he died yesterday. Tahitia Milton, 39, of Roxbury was identified by police as the victim in a Saturday afternoon bloodbath in a Warren Street convenience store. Milton and a man were sprayed by bullets from an assault rifle. A woman who answered the door at Milton’s home yesterday declined comment. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291802

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Mom: Shooting ‘one of the most horrific things I have ever seen’

Mom: Shooting ‘one of the most horrific things I have ever seen’By Peter Gelzinis  |   Wednesday, October 27, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  ColumnistsIt has become this city’s latest shrine to savagery. Until last Saturday afternoon, it was a convenience store on Warren Street in Roxbury. Now it’s been hijacked by vigil candles and condolences scrawled in spray paint. Everything from “R.I.P. Mom!” to “Love Neva Dies, Only People Die,” now cover both the front of the store and the surrounding sidewalk. Tahitia Milton, a 39-year-old mother of four, walked to the Quick Stop to pick up a few things Saturday afternoon, only to be cut down by a killer wielding a true weapon of war, an assault rifle. “It was one of the most horrific things I have ever seen,” said one veteran investigator. Every bit as horrific as the sight of three adults and one toddler laying dead in the middle of a Mattapan street. “It’s sad to say, but it’s almost as if people around here have gotten used to the gunshots and seeing people die in the street.” Like Tahitia Milton, the woman who volunteered that observation was also was a mother, who has made the same trip to the Quick Stop many times. “By the time I got down there on Saturday,” she recalled, “they were lifting that gentleman, who I guess was behind the counter in the Quick Stop, out of a car and putting him in the ambulance. It was awful. But lots of people kind of looked at the whole thing as if it was just another episode of ‘Law & Order.’ .” She drives her two children to and from school every day. She does not allow them out of the house unless she knows her kids are under the watchful eyes of a coach or a teacher. “They ask me all the time, ‘Mommy, how come we can’t do this or that like other kids?’ I don’t know what to say to them, except that things are different for us. How am I supposed to tell them what happened to that woman just down the street?” Bouquets of flowers were tucked into the grates that transformed the Quick Stop into a shuttered tomb. Asked how people cope with a neighbor — a mother being slaughtered as she carried a bag of groceries out of a store — the woman simply shook her head. “That lady was somebody’s daughter, somebody’s mother, somebody’s sister,” she sighed. “Sure, there were people who must have seen it all happen. The sun was out. That police substation was two doors away. But it’s easier to go numb than to go to the police. The way things are going now around here, people just don’t think the police can protect them from the kind of stuff that happened in that store. “So, you just try to get on the best way you can,” she said. “You live your life looking over your shoulder. It’s no way to live. But we don’t seem to have a choice. Each shooting seems worse than the one before.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1291801

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Dorchester gunman kills 30-year-old

Dorchester gunman kills 30-year-oldBy Herald staff  |   Tuesday, October 26, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage A 30-year-old man died after being gunned down last night in a Dorchester Street, police said, the Hub’s 58th murder victim this year. The man, who police would not identify, was found lying and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the throat at the corner of Geneva Avenue and Charles Street around 8 p.m., according to Superintendent Rafael Ruiz. He was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he died, Ruiz said. Ruiz declined to comment on a motive for the shooting, saying it was under investigation. He said police are looking to speak with the driver of a black Cadillac Escalade who may be a witness. People can text anonymous tips to ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291570

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Cops: Robbery wasn’t motive in fatal shooting

Cops: Robbery wasn’t motive in fatal shootingBy Edward Mason & Laurel J. Sweet  |   Tuesday, October 26, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Photo by Mark Garfinkel (file) Police eliminated robbery as a motive for the cold-blooded assault on a Roxbury convenience store Saturday that left a woman dead and the store owner seriously injured. “Investigators do not believe this was in any way random, and they don’t believe robbery was the motive,” said Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. Police also continued their search for the killer who burst into the Quick Stop convenience store with an AK-47 and unleashed a hail of gunfire. But Boston police would not discuss what they believe the gunman’s motive was. “We’re continuing to search for suspects and police are following up on some very promising leads,” Driscoll said. Boston police are asking that tips be phoned into homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. Police did not release the name of the woman who was killed. Driscoll said it’s unclear if the Quick Stop’s owner was the intended target of the assault. The store’s owner, who also was not identified, stumbled bleeding into a neighboring restaurant and collapsed. The daylight assault was launched just feet away from the Boston police’s SWAT team headquarters. David Procopio said state and Boston police are investigating a mysterious 911 call about a trooper shot in Boston placed around the same time the Warren Street incident occurred. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291551

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Victim’s kin: Slay probe is ‘flawed’

Victim’s kin: Slay probe is ‘flawed’By Christine McConville  |   Tuesday, October 26, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Photo by Ted Fitzgerald (file) The outraged lawyer for the family of Danroy Henry Jr. upped the ante in the controversial case yesterday, calling on federal officials to take over the probe of the Pace University football player’s fatal shooting at the hands of local police. “The investigation is fatally flawed,” New York lawyer Michael Sussman said in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. “An independent investigation is required to ensure that the truth about what happened is determined and revealed,” he added. Sussman’s request comes as Bonita Zelman, the lawyer for four of Henry’s teammates, demands that the Mount Pleasant police chief suspend the officer who fired the deadly shot. “I don’t want him riding around this town,” she said. In the week since Henry was killed outside a popular Irish pub in Thornwood, N.Y., wildly differing accounts of the night’s events remain in dispute. The police charged with overseeing the probe say it will take months before the real story becomes known. Here’s what is known. Last Sunday morning, shortly after 1 a.m., a fight broke out in the pub, and the rowdy patrons were evicted. When a local police officer saw 150 people congregating in the strip mall parking lot, he called for assistance. One of the 50 officers who responded then motioned to Henry, an Easton native who was sitting in a parked car in the fire lane outside the pub. Police say Henry sped off, hitting two police officers along the way, but witnesses, through their lawyer, said the officer jumped on the vehicle. Then the officer on the hood shot into the car and hit Henry. Police say they pulled Henry from his car and promptly administered aid, but Zelman said police prevented her clients from helping their dying teammate. On Friday, hours after Zelman accused police of “brutalizing” her clients, an unnamed police source told the Associated Press Henry had a blood alcohol content of 0.13, above the legal limit of .08. Henry’s lawyer has disputed that claim. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291560

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New Bedford gun exchange nets more than 100 firearms

New Bedford gun exchange nets more than 100 firearmsBy Curt Brown / The Standard-Times  |   Monday, October 25, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local CoverageNEW BEDFORD — Organizers touted Sunday’s gun exchange as a huge success, saying it took about three times as many firearms off the streets as last year’s effort. The Rev. David Lima, executive minister of the Inter-Church Council, one of the sponsors, called the community response overwhelming. Although the total number of firearms collected won’t be known until today, he projects it will triple the 41 firearms yielded at a similar gun exchange held last October. Mayor Scott W. Lang said the number of firearms received in the first hour of this year’s exchange exceeded the total from last year. “It was highly, highly successful,” he said. “We got an amazing amount of citizen participation.” He said many of the handguns turned in were “Saturday Night specials.” “Taking them off the streets is good news for every parent in the city.” Lima said the increase in the reward for turning in a firearm, the depressed economy and better publicity all played a part in Sunday’s response. Lima said they increased the amount of the supermarket gift cards from last year’s $50. Every person who turned in a functional handgun (revolver or pistol) received a gift card in the amount of $100 as well as a gift certificate for a large pizza at Domino’s Pizza, courtesy of owner Nelson Hockert-Lotz. To read the rest of this story, go to www.southcoasttoday.com Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291343

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Police: Shooting at Quick Stop wasn’t ‘random act of violence

Police: Shooting at Quick Stop wasn’t ‘random act of violenceBy Laurel J. Sweet  |   Monday, October 25, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage A Boston Police officer stands watch as BPD processes the scene of a shooting at the Quick Stop convenience store on Warren Street in Roxbury.Photo by Angela Rowlings The murderous madman who stormed a Roxbury superette Saturday was armed with an AK-47 and said nothing before unleashing a hail of bullets, killing a woman and injuring the owner as he ran for his life, a source told the Herald. “There was blood and bullets everywhere,” the source said yesterday. Multiple law enforcement sources said the weapon used in the mid-afternoon carnage inside the Quick Stop convenience store at 338A Warren St. was an AK-47 assault rifle — a brazen act just feet from the headquarters of the Boston Police Department’s SWAT team. “There’s no indication this was a random act of violence,” Commissioner Edward Davis told the Herald. The store’s owner, who police have not publicly identified, is recovering from what investigators deemed non-life-threatening wounds. Davis said yesterday it remained unclear if the woman, who sources said suffered catastrophic injuries, was simply a customer caught in harm’s way. Police have not released her name or age. “We’re really not certain what the connection is,” Davis said. “We have some leads we’re working on, but any help we can get from the community would be greatly appreciated.” Officers were out in force yesterday in a gentle rain leafleting the neighborhood with Crime Stoppers brochures to remind the public they can assist police anonymously. Tips can also be phoned into homicide detectives at 617-343-4470. “It’s troubling to have this happen so close to a police station,” Davis said. “We’re obviously dedicated to resolving it and holding people accountable for it.” Quick Stop was closed yesterday — its front entrance covered with a heavy tarp — as investigators continued to pore over the crime scene inside the store and in a fenced-off back yard. The mini mart shares a wall and the ground floor of an apartment building with Warren Street Baptist Church. Khurshed Iqbal, manager of Crown Fried Chicken and Pizza on Warren Street, said he called 911 after Quick Stop’s owner stumbled into his restaurant clutching his side about 3 p.m. Saturday and trying to hold the door shut “as if someone was following him.” “We didn’t hear any (shots), but when I looked at him I saw the blood. He said one word: Help. Then he fell down. He was in very bad condition,’’ Iqbal said. Iqbal said there were about five customers picking up their orders at the time, “but when they saw the situation, everyone ran. They just left their food behind,” he said. He said a man ran into the restaurant and was even dragging him unconscious to a car when police arrived. “He was shaking him and yelling, ‘Open your eyes!’ Iqbal said. “He’s a very nice guy. It was a terrible situation.” The woman’s murder was the city’s 56th homicide this year, compared to 41 at this time last year. Seven people were shot Saturday alone, police said. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291265

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Ex-dispatcher faces retrial in husband’s death

Ex-dispatcher faces retrial in husband’s deathBy Associated Press  |   Sunday, October 24, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Photo by Mark Garfinkel (file)BOSTON — A former Boston police dispatcher accused of fatally stabbing her husband is headed to trial for the second time. Authorities say Sharon Fitzpatrick stabbed Sylvester Mitchell during an argument in their Boston home in May 2007. They say she was angry he came home later than expected for his 40th birthday celebration. Fitzpatrick claimed self-defense. She is charged with second-degree murder. A mistrial was declared in her first trial in March when jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked after three days of deliberations. Her retrial is scheduled to begin Monday in Suffolk Superior Court. The 39-year-old Fitzpatrick worked as a civilian police dispatcher for about two years. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291149

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7 shot in Hub mayhem 1 fatality, near police station

7 shot in Hub mayhem1 fatality, near police stationBy O’Ryan Johnson  |   Sunday, October 24, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage CLOSE TO HOME: Boston police investigate the scene of a daylight shooting – near a police substation – that killed one and injured another.Photo by Mark Garfinkel A woman was shot to death in a Roxbury convenience store in the middle of a sparkling autumn afternoon, one of seven shooting victims during a bloody 24 hours in the city. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene of a double shooting at Quick Stop market on Warren Avenue — nestled between a church and the Boston police substation that houses the SWAT team. Her name and age were not released. A male victim was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with a non-life-threatening wound after he was shot in the left side about 3 p.m. The male victim staggered into the nearby Crown Fried Chicken holding his stomach, said manager Iqval Khurhed, who called 911. “He looked outside, like someone was following him,” said Khurhed, who described the male victim as an employee of the Quick Stop. “Then he fell down and closed his eyes.” As Khurhed called for help, another man ran inside, crouched down and shook the victim’s head, shouting, “Can you hear me? Can you hear me?” Moments later, as the second man tried to put the victim into his car, police arrived and ordered him to put his hands up, Khurhed said. The man told them he was the victim’s cousin, and the victim was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, Khurhed said. “We feel sorry for him,” Khurhed said. “He’s our neighbor.” About 90 minutes later, around 4:29 p.m., a man was shot in the foot on Geneva Avenue. The uncooperative victim was taken to a local hospital. Then, around 6:13 p.m., police found two men shot on Boylston Street near Egleston Square in Jamaica Plain. One suffered life-threatening injuries, police said. Both were transported to local hospitals. According to a witness who was interviewed by police, a young man was shot in the head while riding a bicycle. The other person was shot in the leg but staggered away, she said. The citywide mayhem broke out well before dawn when cops responded to a call at 1:49 a.m. of a man suffering from life-threatening injuries after he was shot near 151 Blue Hill Ave. in Dorchester. A second gunshot victim from the same area was self-transported with non-life-threatening injuries to Boston Medical Center, police officer spokesman Eddy Chrispin said. -ojohnson@bostonherald.comArticle URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1291045

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Lawyer blasts leak of victim’s alcohol level Calls for fed probe into cops’ killing

Lawyer blasts leak of victim’s alcohol levelCalls for fed probe into cops’ killingBy Laura Crimaldi and Richard Weir  |   Saturday, October 23, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage ETERNAL THANKS: Danroy Henry Sr. shows off a letter written by his son Danroy Jr. The letter thanks his parents for raising him Photo by Ted FitzgeraldThe lawyer for the family of an Easton college student killed by New York police last weekend hammered an anonymous report leaked last night stating the 20-year-old may have been intoxicated. “I’m not going to let police character assassinate this man in the eleventh hour,’’ attorney Michael Sussman told the Herald. “It’s very obvious to me the Department of Justice must take over this investigation,” he added. Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday also joined with others in demanding a full investigation into the fatal police shooting of Danroy “D.J.” Henry Jr. “I’ve spoken to the parents. My heart goes out to them and their family,” Patrick said. “They, like the rest of us, are counting on the authorities in New York to give a complete and accurate account of what happened.” Patrick’s comments come as Henry’s parents said they only want to know the truth amid conflicting statements from investigators and Pace University football players at the chaotic scene. Danroy Henry Sr. said he is not speculating about whether race played a role in his son’s death. “As we were sitting with our son in the hospital, we whispered in his ear, ‘We will get to the truth,’ ” Henry said. “And our singular message to (investigators) is to help us do that, help us get to the absolute truth, because that’s what we need here.” Henry died on Sunday after being shot by police outside Finnegan’s Grill in Thornwood, N.Y. There are conflicting stories about what led to the shooting. Police said cops opened fire after Henry’s vehicle struck two officers. The family of Brandon Cox, 20, of Easton, who was also in the car, said Henry was trying to move out of a fire lane. Pace football players want New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate. Under New York law, only the governor has the authority to appoint a special prosecutor. “Westchester County will not cover up for the brutality and shooting of D.J. Henry,” said attorney Bonita Zelman, who represents some of Henry’s teammates. “They will not get away with covering up and trying to ruin the lives of those football players who came forward to save his life.” Zelman was referring to claims that witnesses who tried to help Henry were “brutalized” by cops. She said four players were wrongly arrested and singled out Daniel Parker, 22, of Lauderhill, Fla., who claims cops beat him after he “begged” to perform CPR. Parker was also arrested. Sussman said last night the anonymous report — carried by The Associated Press — that stated Henry had a blood alcohol level of 0.13 shows police have “no integrity.” The legal limit for driving in New York is 0.08. “This was not a DWI stop. Everybody knows Danroy was waiting for friends,” said Sussman, who added the parents deserve to see any autopsy results first before they are “leaked” to the press. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1290834

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