Man pleads guilty to Boston fatal shooting from May 2020 midway through trial
A 42-year-old man has received a decades-long prison sentence in connection with a 2020 Boston fatal shooting after pleading guilty midway through his trial, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.
On May 5, Mattapan resident Yaliek Allah-Barnes pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the death of 49-year-old Dorchester resident Derek Fitzpatrick on May 18, 2020, the district attorney's office said in a press release. He changed his plea just days after his trial began on May 2.
Around noon on May 18, 2020, Allah-Barnes parked his car, walked up to the front porch of 45 Bernard St. in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood and fired multiple shots, hitting Fitzpatrick, according to prosecutors. Allah-Barnes then returned to his car and fled the scene, but Boston police detectives arrested him in connection with the shooting days later.
Read more: Yaliek Allah-Barnes charged with murder in daytime shooting of Derek Fitzpatrick; Boston sees 4 killings in 6 days
At Allah-Barnes' sentencing, several of Fitzpatrick's family members delivered victim impact statements, the district attorney's office said. His aunt shared that the family often met for Bible study at the Bernard Street home, while his father spoke of his pride for his son, saying he was 'quite a community worker,' and that 'he was taking senior citizens to church, picking them up Sundays.'
In the release, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden thanked Fitzpatrick's family members for their statements.
'These statements served as both a touching remembrance of Derek Fitzpatrick and a testament to how deeply he is missed by those who knew and loved him,' he said.
Judge Mary Ames ultimately sentenced Allah-Barnes to 17 to 24 years in prison on the manslaughter charge.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
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