Thursday, 4:30 PM
Teenager accused of fatal Randolph shooting held without bail
By April Yee, Globe Correspondent
The grandmother of a slain Randolph teenager lashed out today when a judge allowed the 16-year-old accused of his murder to avoid appearing at his arraignment inside Quincy District Court.
After the request of his attorney, Malcolm Carnes, 16, was allowed to listen to the brief proceeding from outside the courtroom. The attorney, John A. Amabile, argued that potential witnesses could be influenced if his client’s face was filmed by television cameras. Carnes is accused of fatally shooting Ezekiel Cuthbert, 17, near the intersection of North Main and Jane streets just after 5 p.m. Wednesday.
"He killed my grandson," the woman called out in an angry voice as she sat in the public gallery with a dozen of the victim’s friends and family members.
Judge Mary Hogan Sullivan responded: “I’m going to hold him without bail.”
"But why is his lawyer trying to hide him?" asked the grandmother, who stormed out of court and did not give her name.
Carnes pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of building. A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for July 26.
About a dozen supporters of Carnes also came today to court. "The boy is not violent," said Yvette Downey, 40, of Randolph. "The boy is a respectful kid. I stand by him 100 percent, and I know he didn’t do it."
Carnes has a 6-month-old daughter, Nevaeh, and had planned to start GED classed next month so he could go to college and support the baby, said the mother of his child, Ashley Celeste, 15.
"He’s just a good father," Celester said. "He makes her laugh. He makes her smile."
The victim’s family declined to comment after the arraignment. "We’re still grieving," said a woman who described herself as a relative but declined to give her name.
According to police and court documents, witnesses told investigators that they saw Carnes and Cuthbert arguing near Route 28. Carnes lifted up his shirt to show Cuthbert a handgun stuck in his waistband, witnesses told police.
Cuthbert ran, and Carnes chased him for a short distance. "Witnesses would indicate that Carnes raised the firearm and discharged one shot that struck Cuthbert," the police report says.
Cuthbert was rushed to a hospital and an hour later pronounced dead. Police arrested Carnes early this morning at his grandmother’s home in Mattapan.
