Dorchester teen 'truly innocent victim' of street violence, DA says

Lopes and Fernandes, who is being tried as an adult, did not appear in the prisoner's dock at Dorchester Municipal Court, where not guilty pleas were entered on their behalf. They were ordered held without bail, and their defense lawyers declined to comment after the brief hearing.

About 30 of Fomby-Davis's relatives were on hand, including the victim's father, Nathaniel Davis Jr., a truck driver and church deacon. Speaking to reporters afterward, Davis seemed stunned by the cold-hearted brutality.

"I don't know what I'm thinking, actually,'' he said. He gathered himself and then said: "Get your child today and hug them and let them know they are to be loved. I don't know where the hatred is coming from.''

One woman who was with the victim's relatives in the courtroom was overwhelmed as she stood on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse, crying and screaming.

"You're killing me! You're all killing me!'' the unidentified woman shouted. "No! No! No!''

In court, Haggan clarified how the killing was discovered by Boston police. Police had initially said an undercover officer on patrol chanced upon the shooting, but today Haggan said it was actually an officer, Anthony Williams, who was off-duty and driving home when he saw two people crouched between cars.

Williams stopped to observe the suspicious pair – and then gave chase after Fomby-Davis was slain. The officer also called for help. Police recovered a .25-caliber handgun believed to be the weapon used in the killing; it was stashed underneath a car that Fernandes was allegedly kneeling next to, Haggan said.

"You'll catch it soon!'' Haggan said Lopes shouted at Williams.

Lopes, according to prosecutors, has previous arrests for trespassing, breaking and entering, and threats to commit a crime. The resolution of those charges was not immediately known.

Before the court hearing, some of Formby-Davis's relatives spoke with reporters.

"Everything is going though my mind. Hate. Love,'' said Kevin Barrows, an uncle. "I want to see somebody go to jail for the rest of their lives.''

Barrows said he has seen the two suspects in the neighborhood, but added he did not believe his nephew was familiar with them.

Nicholas Fomby-Davis’s death was the 26th homicide in Boston this year, compared with 23 at the same time last year. Three weeks ago, a 14-year-old honor roll student, Jaewon Martin, was shot to death and a boy with him was injured on a basketball court on the Jamaica Plain/Roxbury line.

Other relatives of Fomby-Davis said they are stunned by the killing, and at a loss to explain why someone attacked the Dearborn Middle School pupil.

"I want to see the people who did this,'' said the teen's grandmother Ernestine Fomby Newborn. "Why? Why? What is the reason for this?"

Angela Fomby said she is hurt by the loss of her nephew, but showed compassion for the two charged in the case.

"I feel sorry for the kids who did this, too,'' she said, "because their families are also suffering.''

His family reacted with shock during conversations with the Globe yesterday.