Slaying victim had criminal history

Andre Stoner had his brushes with the law, but the mother of his two sons said yesterday that those days were long behind him.

Stoner, 28, of Dorchester, was shot multiple times about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday while standing next to his car near the intersection of Blue Hill Avenue and Esmond Street, according to Boston police. He is the city's 57th homicide victim this year.

"He's a family man. We've got two kids," said Grizel Echevarria, who has been involved with Stoner since they both were 13. "He helped me with the kids every day. He takes them down to school. . . . He was a good man."

Stoner volunteered at Boston Bengals Pop Warner team games when their oldest son played, Echevarria said, but neither he nor the boy was at practice Saturday when Coach Myron Stovell was shot, allegedly by a 15-year-old, who has been charged.

Suffolk Superior Court records show Stoner has at least two convictions, in 1999 for possessing marijuana and in 2003 for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for attacking a man with a knife.

"He might have sold drugs once," said Joao DePina, a Dorchester community activist who was raised as part of Stoner's family by an aunt of the slain man. "But he changed his life. People look at a [criminal] record. Sometimes the record is not what the person is."

Stoner, according to state records, was a licensed apprentice barber. Echevarria said Stoner worked at a Charlestown barber shop in recent years, but earlier this year shifted to a shop on Dorchester Avenue.

Both Echevarria and DePina said they had no idea why anyone would kill Stoner. "I don't know why this evil came upon him," DePina said.

Echevarria said Stoner's killing has made her fearful and distrustful. "This world is so crazy," she said. "The way I look at it, I trust no one now. At this moment, I fear for my life."

Also yesterday, police identified Denise Ledbetter, 39, of Mattapan as the woman who was shot and killed on Talbot Avenue in Dorchester about 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Police said the victim was found lying on the sidewalk and was rushed to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she later died.

An unidentified 21-year-old man, who lives on Talbot Avenue, was wounded in the attack.

Anyone with information can call 617-343-4470 or text a tip to 27463 to remain anonymous.