Kidnapping Charge Follows Gunfire Outside Restaurant

Roberto Ortiz of Dorchester, Mass. ordered held on $19,000 bail

A Massachusetts man has been ordered to be held on $19,000 bail on charges he kidnapped a man at gunpoint after firing shots outside a Chelsea restaurant.

Roberto Ortiz of Dorchester was arraigned Friday on a slew of charges, including armed kidnapping, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Assistant District Attorney Philip Cheng told the court that police were dispatched to La Palma Restaurant shortly before 1:20 a.m. Friday for a report of a disturbance. When officers approached the area, they heard two gunshots.

Witnesses provided police with a description of a car and of the gunman.

A trooper observed the vehicle on the Meridian Street Bridge in East Boston, and saw an object being thrown from the vehicle.

The driver told police that he fled to his vehicle to escape the disturbance at the restaurant, but a man later identified as Ortiz entered the vehicle, threatened the man's life, and forced him at gunpoint to drive from the scene.

Police also identified the driver and passenger of a second vehicle that sustained two bullet holes in the incident.

One of the victims was transported to Meridian St., and positively identified Ortiz as the man seen with a firearm.

Ortiz will return to court May 15.

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