Three defendants were acquitted Tuesday on murder charges of a 28-year-old man who was shot dead while exiting the 7-Eleven on August 27, 2016.
Amos Carrasquillo, 30, his girlfriend, Amanda Algarin, 28, and their associate, Julio Pizarro, 45, were acquitted after 11 days of deliberations, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. The DA's office said the prosecution was confident the jury fully and fairly weighed the evidence that they were provided.
Carrasquillo was charged with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm in December 2016, after initially being arrested on an unrelated federal probation warrant.
In 2016, Assistant DA Julie Higgins of the DA's Homicide Unit, said Carrasquillo and Kelly were known to each other, and Carrasquillo had allegedly "shown signs of hostility toward the victim in the days preceding the Aug. 27 homicide," according to the DA's office.
An investigation by Boston Police homicide detectives and Suffolk County prosecutors revealed that Carrasquillo had allegedly threatened and physically assaulted Kelly, who used a wheelchair and was considered a "habitue" of the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Centre Street and South Huntington Avenue.
Further, police say that Carrasquillo was in the area of the convenience store for several hours prior to the homicide, at one point trailing Kelly in a vehicle. When Kelly went into the store, prosecutors say, Carrasquillo shot him as he exited, killing him, at around 3:30 a.m.
Surveillance footage, phone records, witness statements and additional evidence point to Carrasquillo, according to Higgins, who added that ballistics evidence at the scene suggested a single gun fired by a single shooter.