Police seek 2 men in woman's shooting death

Boston police are looking for two city men they said are responsible for the shooting death of Analicia Perry, who was gunned down last month as she laid candles at a makeshift shrine for her slain brother on the fourth anniversary of his death.

Police said last evening they have issued a murder warrant for Laron Lewis Richardson, 28, who officers believe shot Perry on July 22 at the same spot in Roxbury where her brother, Robert Perry, was killed in 2002. An arrest warrant has also been issued for Steven Sayles, 29, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact of murder. A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said Sayles knew Analicia Perry. Police did not describe a motive.

Perry's slaying was among the most heart-wrenching in a rash of killings last month that put the city on pace to exceed last year's homicide total, the highest in a decade.

Perry's relatives said they were happy that police had identified suspects.

``Hopefully, there will be some arrests," said Evangelene Lacombe, one of Perry's aunts.

``It's so hard to get through each and every day," said her sister, Florine Smith, who sat with Lacombe on the balcony of the second floor of a relative's home on Stanwood Terrace. ``The family still can't deal, still can't believe she's not with us."

Both women, who wore buttons with pictures of Perry's face, said they had not heard of Richardson or Sayles.

Perry, who was nicknamed Ana-Banana, was the single mother of a 4-year-old daughter and was a hairdresser who was hoping to become a nurse, her friends have said. She lived with her mother and another sister on West Newton Street, about a mile from where she was killed.

Growing up, she was particularly close to her brother Robert, who was 26 when he died.

Analicia Perry was shot in the face and found lying on the sidewalk, near the candles she had set out for her brother, who police said was killed by Robert Moss, 19. Moss, who was never arrested, was found shot dead on the grounds of Mount Calvary Cemetery on Cummins Highway a few days after Robert Perry was killed. His slaying has not been solved.

Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department, declined to say why police identified Sayles and Richardson as the suspects. She also declined to say how long police have suspected them as the alleged perpetrators.

``We released their names because we need the public's help locating them," Driscoll said last evening.

Richardson and Sayles are considered dangerous and may be in possession of a firearm, police said. Anyone with information about the men's whereabouts is urged to call the homicide unit at 617-343-4470 or the department's toll-free number at 800-494-TIPS.

The poignant circumstances of Perry's death attracted national media attention and drew the ire of the Rev. William E. Dickerson, who told a church full of mourners to give up Perry's killer. Hundreds of relatives and friends filled Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester during her funeral, which was fraught with emotion. Some women fell to the ground in grief. Others grabbed Perry's body in her coffin and urged her to wake up. Some were so disconsolate, they had to be carried out of the sanctuary.

Yesterday, at Stanwood Terrace, Perry's mother was still too distraught to speak.

``Anna's a sweet person," Smith said. ``It's so hard to believe anyone would want to hurt her."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe, and Brian R. Ballou at bballou@globe.com.