24-year-old Caleb Boateng appeared before a Central District Court in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States, on Tuesday, July 11.
It was his first appearance in court following a 13-hour standoff with police last Friday (July 7) in an incident that left his mother and brother with gunshot wounds.
Spotting a black designer T-shirt and spotting dishevelled hair, Caleb was slapped with six charges read out to him for the first time.
They included: two counts of assault to murder (armed), two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, among other charges.
The local news portal Telegram reported that on his first appearance, the following major incidents happened.
a. He accepted a court-appointed Attorney
b. He pleaded not guilty
c. Court ordered that he be held without bail
d. He was slapped with a total of six counts.
Read the full story by the Telegram & Gazette portal
Title: Caleb Boateng held without bail in shooting of mother and brother on Colby Ave. in Worcester
Caleb Boateng, accused of shooting his mother and brother at their Colby Avenue home on Friday, was arraigned Tuesday in Central District Court.
Boateng, 24, shot at police officers who responded to the report of a shooting. A 13-hour standoff followed, with Boateng barricaded in the house at 51 Colby Ave.
After being hospitalized in the days after his arrest, Boateng made his initial court appearance about 3 p.m. Tuesday.
He is charged with two counts of assault to murder (armed), two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, illegal possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, among other charges.
Not-guilty pleas were entered on his behalf, and Judge Janet J. McGuiggan ordered him held without bail.
Boateng is accused of shooting his mother, Philomena Boateng, and his brother, Obed O. Boateng, during a confrontation about 8:30 a.m. Friday. Court records show the mother was shot in the right arm and right thigh, and that the brother was shot in the abdomen and left hand. Both were hospitalized.
Pilomena Boateng was still in the hospital Tuesday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell said. When asked by McGuiggan if Obed Boateng was still in the hospital, Bell said she did not know.
Meantime, Philomena and Obed have been granted restraining orders against Caleb, according to court records.
When asked by the judge if he wanted a court-appointed attorney, Caleb Boateng, who was wearing a black designer T-shirt and was sporting stitches and a bruise on his upper-right forehead, politely answered, “Yes, Ma’am,”
Caleb Boateng is not licensed to possess a firearm and/or ammunition, according to court records.
Sean M. McGinty is the defendant’s court-appointed lawyer.
Caleb Boateng is being held without the right to bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Monday in Courtroom 23.
No motive for the shooting was revealed in court.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com