Suspected orchestrator charged in officer's death
Revere authorities say 3 associates are sought
CHELSEA - The altercation that ended in the shooting death of Dan Talbot began when 17-year-old Derek Lodie allegedly confronted the off-duty Revere police officer and his friends as they socialized near the bleachers of Revere High School early Saturday, a court was told yesterday.
As Lodie stood hidden from dozens of officers attending his arraignment in a Chelsea courtroom yesterday, a prosecutor described the rapid succession of events that led to Talbot's death on a baseball field in the early morning.
Lodie argued with Talbot's group, which included Talbot's 28-year-old fiancée and at least three other officers, and then called three friends on his cellphone to join him, law enforcement officials said yesterday.
When Lodie's friends arrived, at least one of them armed with a gun, the two groups began shouting, officials said. One of Lodie's friends fired first, striking Talbot in the forehead, a prosecutor said yesterday, igniting a brief exchange of shots.
"A tragic result was set in motion by the defendant's actions," Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin, said at Lodie's arraignment in district court on charges of accessory to murder before the fact. Lodie "orchestrated and escalated the confrontation, which resulted in the shooting death of Officer Talbot."
Lodie, a Revere teenager who was already facing unrelated charges of assault with a dangerous weapon after allegedly pointing a rifle at his mother, is the first suspect authorities have charged in the case, which prosecutors said yesterday was continuing.
A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Zabin described the three men with Lodie as associates who are known to police, but officials refused to say whether they were in custody. Prosecutors said they do not believe Talbot, 30, a member of the Revere police gang unit, knew Lodie or the other men.
State and city police in riot gear stormed two houses in Revere on Monday, one on Cooledge Street and the other on Thurlow Avenue, which is less than a half-mile from the school. Police arrested three men following the searches and charged one with possession of a firearm, but did not say whether the arrests were connected to the shooting.
"State Police homicide detectives assigned to my office, with the assistance of other State Police units and in close collaboration with the men and women of the Revere Police Department, are literally working around the clock," Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a written statement yesterday. "No other individual has been charged in connection with Officer Talbot's homicide at this time, but the investigation remains very active and very focused."
Revere Police Chief Terence K. Reardon said after the arraignment that investigators had interviewed numerous people.
"There are a lot of loose ends to tie up," Reardon said. "I'd say we're feeling very good about this investigation."
According to court documents, Lodie lives in a public housing apartment on Raymond Road. No one answered the door yesterday. A neighbor who declined to give her name said that Lodie's mother and younger sister live at the house, but that Lodie had not been there for "quite some time."
Marika Ghazal, who lives on the street, said Lodie's mother and sister are friendly and polite.
"They're very nice," she said. "He's quiet."
During yesterday's arraignment, officers from Revere, Boston, Chelsea, and the Transit Police stood silently shoulder to shoulder and only sat after the judge told them to.
None of the officers showed any emotion as Zabin described the charges. After the arraignment, they filed quietly out of the courtroom. Some hugged as they stood in the foyer of the courthouse.
Talbot's fiancée, Constance Bethell, left the courtroom without speaking to reporters.
Revere police officers said they were not surprised by the turnout.
"It's a brotherhood," said Officer Joseph Internicola Jr., who has known Talbot since they were students at Revere High School. "It's a family."
Sergeant Steven Pisano said Talbot was a level-headed officer who gained respect because of his ability to stay cool under pressure and his empathy toward people he encountered on the job.
"Even if this wasn't a popular officer there would have been so many people here, but this guy was an absolute sweetheart," said Pisano, as he stood in the parking lot of the courthouse. "He will be horribly missed by this department."
On Friday, Talbot had gone to a firing range with fellow officers, then to Margarita's, a restaurant on American Legion Highway. About 1:30 a.m. Saturday, the group went Revere High School, where they encountered Lodie.
Talbot, who had planned to get married next October, was looking forward to time off, said Internicola, 30. "He finally got a day off," he said. "You think you're working and living in a city that's safe and something like this happens."
Three police officers with him that night have been placed on paid administrative leave. Officials have not specified how many officers were present.
Bouquets of flowers have been left at the police department, where the flag has flown at half-staff since the weekend. When Talbot is buried Saturday in Cambridge police expect hundreds will show up to honor him.
Yesterday, officers called officers in other departments around the state to alert them of the arraignment so that a large crowd would attend.
"Anytime a police officer is injured or killed, we rally," said Sergeant Tom Malone, 38. "We wanted to be here for Danny. We wish we could do more."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com; Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. 