BOSTON — Video captured on a witness’s cellphone helped lead to the arrest of a Virginia man on murder and firearm charges following the shooting death of a man at Blue Hill Avenue and Washington Street on Sunday night, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Riccardy Romain, 51, of Chesterfield, Virginia was ordered held without bail during his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court in Roxbury. He is charged with murder and carrying a loaded firearm without a license. Romain is due back in court on Aug. 23 for a probable cause hearing.
At about 7:47 p.m. Sunday, Boston police responded to a call for a person shot in front of 493 Blue Hill Ave.
When officers arrived, they found the victim, later identified as Jackson Beausejour, 33, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the neck, Hayden said. Beausejour was taken by ambulance to Boston Medical Center and pronounced dead.
Assistant District Attorney Sarah McEvoy said responding officers were approached by a witness who showed them video he had taken with his cellphone.
The video showed a man with a backward baseball cap, gray beard, light gray T-shirt, dark gray pants and black sneakers holding a dark-colored firearm in his hand, pointing it at the victim, and the victim falling to the ground, McEvoy said. The video also showed a black Cadillac pickup truck with an attached U-Haul trailer fleeing the scene.
Several minutes later, police spotted the vehicle and trailer stopped at the intersection of Elm Hill Avenue and Warren Street, less than a half-mile from the shooting scene.
Police ordered the driver, later identified as Riccardy Romain, and a juvenile passenger to exit the vehicle. Romain and the juvenile exited without incident and were placed into handcuffs, Hayden said. A subsequent search of the pickup truck yielded two loaded pistols.
Romain’s clothing was identical to the clothing of the shooter in the video provided by the witness, Hayden said. The juvenile has not been charged.
The shooting was one of several violent incidents in Boston Sunday evening and Monday morning. Hayden on Sunday responded to the scene where Beausejour was shot and called on the public to provide information about that shooting and the other violent incidents.
The district attorney praised the witness for providing the video evidence that helped lead to Romain’s arrest.
“These are the positive things that happen when community members step forward. We’re charging this man today largely due to this person’s brave decision to provide police the information they needed to identify the vehicle and arrest the person inside,” Hayden said.
“We saw some terrible violence on Sunday, violence that our neighborhoods cannot accept and must not ignore. If we as a city and a society want to reduce this gun violence we need to work together to identify the people with the illegal guns and get them off the streets. That’s exactly what happened here and I pray it keeps happening,” Hayden said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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