Police: Suspect in Caribbean festival shooting faces several new charges

Crime

Newly filed charges against Gerald Vick include six counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

A Dorchester man arrested in the aftermath of last month’s Caribbean festival shooting is facing a slew of additional gun charges, Boston police said.

Gerald Vick, 30, was initially charged with unlawful possession of a firearm following the Aug. 26 shooting on Talbot Avenue. He’s accused of taking part in the exchange of gunfire that injured eight people and disrupted the nearby J’ouvert parade, Boston police said in a Sunday news release. 

Police said Vick had a 9mm pistol on him, complete with a large capacity magazine and a “Glock switch” that enabled it to fire continuously.  

Vick, who pleaded not guilty to the initial charges, had been free on bail in another illegal gun case at the time, The Boston Globe reported.

On Friday, Boston police tacked on several more charges: six counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon — firearm; armed assault with intent to murder; unlawful possession of a machine gun; unlawful possession of a firearm — subsequent offense; armed career criminal; discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling; and possession of a large capacity feeding device.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Vick’s lawyer declined to comment on the additional charges. 

The gun violence didn’t stem from the J’ouvert parade, but from an altercation between two groups nearby, the Globe reported, citing Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said last week that another man charged in connection with the shooting, 21-year-old Dorchester resident Sebastian Monteiro Fernandez, could be seen on camera approaching a metal parade barrier, engaging a separate group of men, and shooting rounds toward the group, who then returned fire. 

Vick and Monteiro Fernandez were among several people who faced firearm charges after the shooting.

“It’s impossible to overstate the sheer recklessness of firing bullets on a city street at any time, much less when people are gathered to celebrate and enjoy a popular cultural event,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “This shooting is frightening not only for the thoughtlessness of those involved and the injuries they inflicted, but for the potential fatalities that, mercifully, didn’t occur.”

Vick is due back in Dorchester Municipal Court on Friday.