Brockton Man Sentenced for Shooting Elderly Woman in South End

A Brockton man was sentenced to state prison Thursday following  a conviction for shooting an elderly women when he opened fire on a crowd in the South End, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said in a press release. 

On April 11, a Suffolk Superior Court jury found Kevin Washington, 34, of Brockton was guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Jurors acquitted him of an indictment charging armed assault with intent to murder, the DA's office stated.

Assistant District Attorney David Bradley of the DA's Senior Trial Unit recommended a sentence of 10 to 12 years in prison at a sentencing hearing on Thursday, and Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Washington to five to seven years in state prison, followed by three years probation, during which time he will need to complete 1,000 hours of community service. 

The sentencing stems from an incident on Aug. 28, 2012, when a car pulled up in front of the Shawmut Avenue liquor store. Prosecutors said at a trial that surveillance images showed Washington jump out of the car and open fire into a crowd; and said that while he had been gunning for a group of males in front of the store, he instead struck a 62-year-old woman in the arm. 

The victim had told police she heard gunshots ring out before she realized she'd been shot, and continues to suffer pain from the injury, Bradley told the court. 

A Boston Housing Authority officer witnessed the shooting and chased Washington through Ramsey Park alongside Boston Police officers. 

Washington reportedly tossed the gun in the park, and when officers searched for the weapon, another man, 48-year-old Graciano Aponte, who reportedly had no connection to Washington, directed police to a different area of the park before picking up the gun and stashing it into a brown paper bag. Authorities believed he intended to take it once police cleared the scene, but witnesses directed officers back to Aponte, who eventually admitted that he had taken and hidden the gun, and later pleaded guilty on April 11, receiving two to three years in state prison. 

"People of conscience need to condemn this behavior," Conley said in a statement Thursday. "The shooting defendant didn’t just shoot at a rival. He travelled to the scene. He put on latex gloves. He knew exactly what he was doing when he opened fire on a crowd of people on a busy Boston street. And who did he hit? An elderly woman who posed no threat to him or anyone else. The city’s streets are safer with this individual far away from them. As for the man who secreted the gun instead of telling police where it was, the community reaction to that behavior speaks for itself. Witnesses were all too happy to tell police exactly where that gun went, and we’re grateful. They may very well have prevented another shooting – or worse."