BOSTON (WHDH) - Two Boston men are being held without bail in connection with several shots fired in a busy section of Back Bay on Tuesday afternoon.
Rashawn Bly, 24, and Walter Coleman, hid behind a door during their arraignment Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court after their attorneys suggested that police arrested the wrong men.
They each pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm, firearm discharged within 500 feet of dwelling, two counts of assault with dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, unlawful possession of ammunition, firearm carry without license loaded, and armed career criminal level 1, firearm violation with 1 prior violent/drug crime.
Officers responding to a report of shots fired in the area of Fairfield and Newbury streets around 4 p.m. Tuesday learned that two possible suspects had fled into a public alley.
They detained Bly in the alley before gaining access to the roof of a neighboring building and finding Coleman laying on the ground inside of a fenced-in backyard on Commonwealth Avenue, according to Boston police.
Coleman was then taken into custody.
Officers canvassing the area found a black firearm in a closed city recycling bin in the rear of 173 Newbury St., police said.
The firearm, a Baretta 9mm was reportedly in the “lock back” position, with the slide fully extended backward.
They also located ballistic damage to multiple vehicles in the area of the original shots fired call.
Officers spoke with a witness who said an exchange of gunfire had occurred between Bly and Coleman and two other unidentified individuals who had driven away from the scene, according to police.
Wendy Werve was in town from Washington D.C. at the time and snapped a picture of one of the suspects from a conference room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
“It’s very surreal to see happen, that close, to see the individual and the gun,” she said.
Prosecutors say more arrests may be on the way.
There were no reported injuries related to the shooting.
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