Detective praised for bravery in arrest of shooting suspects

Moments after they allegedly sprayed a group of men with gunfire in Roxbury Tuesday evening, killing one and seriously injuring two others, two Boston men were arrested a block away by a Boston police detective, who was hailed yesterday for his courage.

"Detective Mark Fleming did a tremendous job, a real head s-up play," Police Commissioner Ed Davis said in a telephone interview. "There were two armed suspects in the car, so he has to be given credit for bravery."

The shooting occurred at 6:09 p.m., when many residents were returning home from school or work, providing police with numerous eyewitness accounts of the shooting on Maywood Street.

Moments later, Fleming, who had been cruising nearby in an unmarked car, stopped a gray Chevrolet Impala driven by Joseph A. Gomes , 39, of Hyde Park on nearby Savin Street. Emmanuel DaSilva , 22, of Roxbury, was in the passenger's seat. Police said ballistics evidence recovered from the suspects' car matched that recovered from the scene.

The suspects were each charged yesterday in Roxbury District Court with first-degree murder and two counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon. They pleaded not guilty and were ordered held without bail. Davis did not disclose whether one or both of the men allegedly fired into the group or exactly what evidence was recovered.

Police and witnesses said the Impala pulled up to the Maywood Street house, its passenger -side window lowered. Several shots rang out from the car, sending a group of about seven men standing near the house scattering for cover.

The car sped off, turned briefly onto Warren Street, then east on Savin Street, leaving 21-year-old Fausto Sanchez Jr. dying on the pavement. Another man, identified in court records as Alberto Santiago , 19, fell nearby. A third man, Joel Perez, 18, writhed in pain on the lawn.

Sanchez was pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center. Santiago remained in critical condition yesterday, and Perez was listed in serious condition, both at Boston Medical Center. Another man suffered a broken arm when he attempted to flee by jumping a fence.

Authorities are looking into the possibility that the shooting is connected to an episode on Langdon Street in Roxbury on Tuesday morning, in which someone in a house fired multiple shots at a passing car. Police surrounded the house and closed down much of the neighborhood for hours after receiving calls that the gunman may have run inside. Police led four men out of the basement and said they found weapons, cash, and drugs in the basement. The suspects were all charged yesterday with breaking and entering.

"Investigators are looking into possible links between the two incidents, but at this point, it is too early to say definitively whether there is a connection," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said yesterday.

A woman who answered the door at the Langdon Street address yesterday identified herself as Gomes's sister and wife of DaSilva's uncle, Clarimundo DaSilva.

Davis said the Langdon Street house has been a focus of a recent investigation. "There was a shooting there over a month ago, and we have been doing a close inspection of that property for the past six to eight weeks."

Gomes was charged last spring with attempting to assault a police officer near the house. DaSilva, who also was known to Boston police, pleaded guilty last February to a gun and ammunition charge, records show.

Sanchez survived two knife attacks in 2005, his sister, Keila Sanchez, 18, said in a phone interview. "Sad to say, my brother wasn't an angel, he has run into a lot of trouble, and that's why we were moving . . . to Roslindale," she said.

Sanchez almost died from the second stabbing, and he spent a week in intensive care, his sister said.

"A lot of things were happening to my brother over and over, and there just wasn't any explanation for it," she said.