Two brothers arrested in the beating death of a man after a fight outside a bar earlier this year in Quincy, Massachusetts, were in court to face their charges on Wednesday.
Matthew and Steven Potter, the sons of a retired Quincy police sergeant, were arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court. Only one of them, Matthew Potter, was charged directly in the death — a manslaughter charge, in addition to two counts of indecent assault and battery and one charge of assault.
His brother, Steven Potter, was charged with one count of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and one count of assault.
Both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The brothers were arrested Tuesday in the Jan. 27 beating death of 44-year-old Bridgewater resident Christopher McCallum, the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said.
The judge set bail for Steven Potter at $1,000 and $20,000 for Matthew Potter. It's unclear when they are due back in court.
As a result of the charges, Steven Potter, who has worked as an emergency medical technician with Boston EMS since June 2017, was placed on administrative leave, according to the agency.
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"Boston's emergency medical professionals are committed to helping those in need, often through life saving measures, and we have no tolerance for behavior that goes against this mission. As a result of today's arraignment, Boston EMS has placed EMT Steven Potter on administrative leave. Our thoughts and prayers are with the McCallum family and everyone impacted by this horrible tragedy," read a statement from Boston EMS.
McCallum had been found by Quincy police unconscious and bleeding outside the Robert I. Nickerson American Legion Post. Family members said he had been there with his twin brother for a concert when a large disturbance broke out in the parking lot.
McCallum was taken off life support and died the following day.
His family pleaded for months for anyone with information in his death to come forward with information in the case.
In court Wednesday, a prosecutor said the brothers were asked to leave Nickerson Post but that Steven Potter went back in. Matthew Potter was allegedly throwing punches outside and that's when the brothers got into a fight with McCallum and his twin brother William, according to the prosecutor.
Matthew Potter's defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, said his client was actually the victim and said he had various injuries after the incident.
"My guy was on the ground, he didn't throw a punch at anybody, he didn't hit McCallum at all and we have the documentation by way of medical records that clearly he was set upon," Reddington said in court.
He added that his client has no criminal record.
Outside court, William McCallum would not get into details of what happened that night but he did admit regrets.
"I have a lot of guilt. He came out with me that night and he didn't go home," William McCallum said. "He was a great brother - my whole life, my twin brother. We miss him more than anything in the world."
After his death, McCallum's family had pleaded for help finding his killer or killers.
While McCallum's widow Kathy says she's hopeful prosecutors will be able to hold the Potters responsible for her husband's death, no amount of justice will bring him back.
"No matter how this ends, we're the ones with the life sentence. We have – we'll be paying for this for the rest of our lives," Kathy McCallum said.
