1 Convicted, 2 Acquitted In Charlestown Murder Case

CHARLESTOWN, MA — One man was convicted of the 2014 shooting death of a teenager in Charlestown while two who were accused of taking part were acquitted.

Julio Baez, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. He faces a mandatory life sentencing at a Friday morning hearing.

Ryan Morrissey, 17, and a 19-year-old friend were shot outside a Main Street convenience store the night of Nov. 5, 2014. Morrissey died, while his friend survive. Prosecutors argued Baez and two other men - Alexander Soto, 20, and Danilo Soto, 24, who are not related - "undertook a joint venture to commit the shooting."

"No verdict can bring Ryan Morrissey back or undo the harm his friend suffered that night, but this jury brought some measure of justice for both," Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said. "For the community at large, this case took a dangerously violent individual off of Boston’s streets."

Prosecutors convinced a jury that Baez was a "knowing participant in executing the fatal encounter," but say the full truth of that night's events were obscured due to witnesses who lied or stayed silent about critical testimony.

"We believe the totality of the evidence supported each and every charge, even without certain testimony that would have been valuable," Conley said. "We’re disappointed with parts of the verdict, but we respect the jury’s hard work over almost an entire week to reach it. Our concern right now is for the Morrissey family and the grief, as raw now as ever, they’re still confronting."

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