A man has been charged in a shooting outside an Everett, Massachusetts, nightclub in Aug. 2015 that left a young mother from Malden dead.
District Attorney Marian Ryan said Henry "JR" Del Rio, 27, opened fire at a crowd outside the Braza Grill and Restaurant on Aug. 13, 2015, hitting 21-year-old Ashlee Berryman. Berryman died of her injuries at the hospital.
Ryan said Berryman was "a completely innocent victim who was caught in a hail of gunfire." She had a son who was 3 years old at the time.
The shooting happened in a parking lot after a concert let out. Prosecutors allege that Del Rio, who is believed to have been a member of the East Side Money Gang at the time, was in the parking lot with a group that did not attend the show when an argument broke out. Ryan said after that argument, Del Rio fired nine shots into the crowd. One of the bullets struck Berryman in the back, killing her. Another struck one of the men involved in the argument, and others damaged a city sign, a neighboring pharmacy, and a car parked in the area.
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Ryan said witnesses told investigators that Del Rio spoke "brazenly" about the crime after the shooting, but his associates agreed not to reveal the truth. Years later the Middlesex County Cold Case Unit reexamined the case.
The gun involved was never found, Ryan said, but the original investigators recovered spent .40 caliber cartridge casings from the parking lot as well as spent projectiles, all from the same weapon.
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"This case reflects not only the tragedy of a young mother who lost her light after going to a concert, but it also reflects what happens when people have firearms on the street and they are brazen enough to just begin shooting into a crowd of people," Ryan said.
Del Rio was indicted by a grand jury Friday on charges of first-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, attempt to commit assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and firearms charges. He is currently in federal custody for a separate case. Ryan said he is expected in Middlesex Superior Court for arraignment next week.
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