Photo: Courtesy of Craig McDonald
EVERETT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Thursday, Massachusetts State Police arrested 18-year-old Luis M. Perlera of Lunenberg linking to the Everett shooting that took the life of Craig McDonald Jr. on October 22. Perlera was arraigned Friday on the charge of accessory after the fact in connection to the shooting, said Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Everett Chief of Police Steven Mazzie in a joint statement.
A judge ordered Perlera be held on a $50,000 cash bail and required him to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet under house arrest. His next court date will be in December.
Perlera was the second to be arrested in relation to the shooting, as 19-year-old Michael Stanton Jr. of Chelsea was arraigned in Malden District Court for the charge of murder earlier on Wednesday. Stanton Jr. was ordered by a judge to be held without bail.
Read More: Suspect Arraigned In Deadly Everett Shooting
Preliminary investigation by officials suggested that McDonald Jr. was with two friends sitting in a parked car near Revere Street and Second Street when Stanton Jr. allegedly approached the driver's side window and fired a gun at Mcdonald Jr., hitting him. Multiple witness interviews and reviews of surveillance video and phone records led investigators to believe Stanton Jr. to be the shooter. Additional investigation from authorities revealed that after the shooting, Perlera allegedly destroyed pieces of evidence related to the crime.
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville spoke to Craig Mcdonald Jr.'s father, Craig McDonald of Randolph about his son, who he called CJ. McDonald described the traumatic scene as he sped his son to Whidden Memorial Hospital after receiving a call from CJ's friends. It was there that doctors and nurses told McDonald his son had passed.
WBZ's Suzanne Sausville (@wbzSausville) reports.
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