Conviction in disturbingly similar '06 case

Prosecutors said some witnesses to Herman Taylor's murder were not forthcoming and even altered their testimony to thwart justice during the weeklong trial. But after two days of deliberating, a jury convicted Lamory "Laws" Gray, 23, of Jamaica Plain yesterday of first-degree murder.

Faced with the changing accounts, Assistant District Attorney Masai King turned to the testimony reluctant witnesses gave to a Suffolk County grand jury in 2007 to paint the picture of the brutal shooting of Taylor.

From the beginning of the trial, King faced a struggle that has become evident in a number of murder cases, particularly involving gang violence, as he tried to get witnesses to recount what they had seen on the evening of July 12, 2006, and retell their original testimony.

That testimony led to the arrest of Gray, but those witnesses contended that they could not recall what they had told the grand jury and that their memory of what they saw during the fatal confrontation had faded. King, however, utilized their grand jury transcripts to build his case.

District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said: "These witnesses were so strong at one point in the grand jury, but became very unreliable when the trial unfolded. They feigned memory loss. Who forgets witnessing a cold-blooded killing in front of your eyes? Fortunately, we have the ability to go back to the grand jury testimony.

"The fear and intimidation was so pervasive in that courtroom, so I'm just grateful for this jury. They listened to the evidence and didn't leave their common sense at the door."

Taylor, an 18-year-old from Roxbury, was a popular Belmont High School student, attending that school through the Metco program. He quickly made friends and endeared himself to many of his teachers. He was a standout basketball player and also excelled in the classroom.

Prosecutors say Taylor was a victim of mistaken identity, that Gray thought he was a gang rival. At the time, there had been at least 50 shootings between gangs from the Bromley-Heath and Humboldt Avenue areas, authorities said. In his opening statement in the trial, King said that Gray "went on a mission up Humboldt Avenue to shoot someone from H-Block." Police and prosecutors said Taylor was not involved with gangs.

Gray called out to Taylor, according to prosecutors, and engaged him in a brief conversation before drawing a handgun and shooting Taylor twice. As Taylor tried to escape, Gray took aim again and calmly fired off two more shots, hitting Taylor in the abdomen. Taylor fell less than 500 feet from his front door.

The brutal nature of the 2006 shooting was similar to the killing of 15-year-old Soheil Turner at a bus stop in Dudley Square on Thursday morning. According to police, the suspect walked up to Turner, who had just left a Roxbury bodega and and shot him twice in the head.

In a statement yesterday, the Taylor family said the "verdict was bittersweet."

"Justice was served," they said, "but two lives will forever be altered by the senseless murder of our beloved Herman."

"Although another weight has been lifted, there is still work to be done," they added. "Our hearts go out to the Turner family and all families coping with the loss of a loved one to gun violence.

"We need to take back our communities, but first start by loving our children and keeping them engaged in positive things that help them make better choices in life."

Gray's mother and several other supporters of the defendant expressed outrage yesterday.

"My son didn't do this," said his mother, who declined to give her name. "He is innocent and should have walked out of that courtroom with us.

"They have the wrong person, and now two lives have been destroyed," she said, walking outside the courthouse. "There was no evidence, no witnesses. This is a verdict that I am supposed to accept?"