BOSTON — Two men charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of an innocent bystander at a Boston street festival in 2014 are headed to trial.
It was an emotional first day of testimony in the murder trial of rival Boston gang members, now co-defendants Keith Williams and Wesson Colas.
Prosecutors say Williams and Colas were rivals who confronted each other with guns near a Caribbean festival in Dorchester in August 2014. Prosecutors say Williams fired, but Colas did not.
Under state law, both men face murder charges and will be tried together even though they are rivals.
A bullet struck and killed 24-year-old Dawnn Jaffier, a city youth worker.
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Their defense lawyers had had asked a judge to separate the cases.
Williams's attorney says his client was wrongly identified as the shooter.
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