A 24-year-old man named Caleb Boateng made his first appearance before the Central District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts on Tuesday, July 11. This appearance came after a 13-hour standoff with the police that occurred on Friday, July 7, resulting in his mother and brother being shot.
Caleb, wearing a black designer T-shirt and sporting disheveled hair, faced six charges that were read out to him for the first time. These charges included two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, among others.
According to the local news portal Telegram, several significant incidents took place during Caleb’s initial court appearance.
a. He accepted a court-appointed Attorney
b. He pleaded not guilty
c. Court ordered that he be held without bail
d. He was slapped with a total of six counts.
Read the full story by the Telegram & Gazette portal
Title: Caleb Boateng held without bail in shooting of mother and brother on Colby Ave. in Worcester
Caleb Boateng, accused of shooting his mother and brother at their Colby Avenue home on Friday, was arraigned Tuesday in Central District Court.
Boateng, 24, shot at police officers who responded to the report of a shooting. A 13-hour standoff followed, with Boateng barricaded in the house at 51 Colby Ave.
After being hospitalized in the days after his arrest, Boateng made his initial court appearance about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
He is charged with two counts of assault to murder (armed), two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, among other charges.
Not-guilty pleas were entered on his behalf, and Judge Janet J. McGuiggan ordered him held without bail.
Boateng is accused of shooting his mother, Philomena Boateng, and his brother, Obed O. Boateng, during a confrontation about 8:30 a.m. Friday. Court records show the mother was shot in the right arm and right thigh, and that the brother was shot in the abdomen and left hand. Both were hospitalized.
Pilomena Boateng was still in the hospital Tuesday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell said. When asked by McGuiggan if Obed Boateng was still in the hospital, Bell said she did not know.
Meantime, Philomena and Obed have been granted restraining orders against Caleb, according to court records.
When asked by the judge if he wanted a court-appointed attorney, Caleb Boateng, who was wearing a black designer T-shirt and was sporting stitches and a bruise on his upper-right forehead, politely answered, “Yes, Ma’am,”
Caleb Boateng is not licensed to possess a firearm and/or ammunition, according to court records.
Sean M. McGinty is the defendant’s court-appointed lawyer.
Caleb Boateng is being held without the right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Monday in Courtroom 23.
No motive for the shooting was revealed in court.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
