Thursday, 4:30 PM
Melee erupts in Quincy courtroom as victim's relatives rush defendant
(AP Photo/Greg Derr, Pool)
Court officers had to restrain spectators today in Quincy District Court.
By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
Chaos erupted in a Quincy courtroom today as relatives of a slain Braintree woman tried to attack a defendant in police custody and screamed obscenities at his two sisters, asking what it was like to be related to a "killer."
No one was injured in the brief melee, but the 15 friends and relatives of Michelle L. Durham, 28, had to be restrained by police and court officers.
The defendant, Renaldo Pomare, 21, was taken into police custody after Durham was shot to death in her Braintree apartment on Thursday, but he has not been charged with her death. He was accused of violating a restraining order, a charge to which he pleaded not guilty in Quincy District Court moments before the commotion. After the fight, Pomare's sisters had to be escorted by to their cars by court officers.
During the arraignment, Megan Kennedy, an assistant Norfolk district attorney, said that homicide detectives were investigating Durham's death, but she did not say that Pomare was a suspect. Police have released few details about the slaying, saying only that it was a homicide, that it was not believed to be a random act, and that the public should not fear a suspect being loose.
In court today, Kennedy described a violent fight on April 23 in which she said Pomare threw Durham against a bathroom wall. Kennedy alleged that when Durham tried to leave her own apartment, Pomare dragged her back inside by the hair.
Police charged Pomare with assault and battery and a restraining order was issued to protect Durham. Kennedy said that Pomare repeatedly violated that restraining order by calling, sending flowers, and visiting Durham's apartment as recently as last Sunday.
However, defense attorney Phyllis Field said that her client had not had contact with Durham since April 23 and never hurt her. As evidence, Field read an affidavit that she said Durham filed in court earlier this week that requested that the restraining order be lifted.
"He never touched me before or made me uncomfortable in any way," Durham wrote, according to Field, who read the document in court.
Durham wrote that she was "partly responsible" for their argument because she tried to flush Pomare’s cellphone down the toilet.
