Dorchester man shoots at neighbor, misses

By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

An argument over a blocked driveway yesterday morning in Dorchester quickly escalated when one man fired a shot in the direction of his neighbor and missed, just a few doors down from the scene of a fatal shooting last month, police said.

Boston police said in a statement that a man approached officers near the corner of Bowdoin Street and Hamilton Street just before 10:15 a.m. and told them his neighbor, Charles Johnson, 32, had just fired one shot in the area of 41 Olney St.

The man said Johnson’s vehicle had been blocking his driveway, and that Johnson became angry when he asked him to move the car. The man said that during the altercation, Johnson went into his home and retrieved a gun. Johnson came back outside and punched his neighbor in the face before firing a single round, the man told police. Officers later recovered a spent round at the scene, according to the statement.

The man jumped into his vehicle and drove toward Bowdoin Street, police said, and officers later discovered that Johnson had also fled from the scene in a gold Honda Accord.

They spotted the Accord a short time later and arrested Johnson, charging him with assault by means of a dangerous weapon, armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, unlawful possession of a firearm, and operating a motor vehicle after suspension, police said.

Nicholas Trotman, 38, was fatally shot outside 45 Olney St. on June 29. Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at the time that investigators were trying to determine if the killing was gang-related, and that witnesses heard an argument outside before the shooting. No arrests have been made.

A police spokesman said Trotman’s death and the incident yesterday do not appear to be related.