Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2002
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Contact:  http://www.telegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509
Note: only publishes letters from state residents.
Author: Mathew Bruun

GUNFIGHT LEAVES 2 PEOPLE WOUNDED

One man is in custody and police are still searching for several others 
after a gunfight Tuesday night at a known drug house that left at least two 
people injured in a nearby home.

Police recovered 26 shell casings on the road in front of 34 Walnut St. and 
on nearby Payson Street, and bullets were fired into two floors of an 
apartment building next door at 24 Walnut St.

Occupants of a second-floor apartment at 34 Walnut St. returned fire, 
police said, although the building's owner said only the third floor is 
lawfully rented.

"There have been overtones of drug problems at this particular address," 
police Capt. Joseph A. Carbone said.

Miguel A. Gonzalez, 23, who lives in a basement apartment at 191 Mechanic 
St., was arrested when police saw him running from the shooting scene 
Tuesday night carrying a gun. He was ordered held on $26,000 cash bail 
after his arraignment in Fitchburg District Court yesterday on weapons 
charges.  He also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest as a fugitive 
from justice from Union County, N.J., Capt. Carbone said. The New Jersey 
warrant involves narcotics charges, according to court records. He told his 
court-appointed lawyer he plans one day to open a barbershop. Mr. Gonzalez 
pleaded not guilty and was ordered returned to court July 16 for a pretrial 
hearing.

Witnesses said several men wearing hooded sweatshirts approached 34 Walnut 
St. just after 9 p.m. Tuesday and opened fire. Some told police that 
between four and six men approached the residence, while others guessed 10 
people were involved.

Shots were returned from a second-floor porch, although police found no one 
inside when they descended on the area after many 911 calls from the 
neighborhood.

A white sport utility vehicle was recovered near 124 Crestview Lane later 
Tuesday night, about two miles from the shooting scene, Capt. Carbone said. 
Witnesses told police people from inside 34 Walnut St. had piled into the 
car and fled.

The car, which had not been reported stolen as of yesterday, was registered 
to a Summer Street man.

"They just walked up, pulled out guns and started shooting," said Steven 
Emery, who owns the apartment building at 24 Walnut St. "It was just a lot 
of shots."A stray bullet barely missed his wife, Esther, who was in the 
kitchen of their second-floor apartment.

Mrs. Emery said she had just put a pie in the refrigerator when the shots 
began.

"I heard a poof. I thought it just hit the house," she said. Moments later 
she realized the bullet had come through the wall of her apartment and 
become buried in her refrigerator.

"Somebody was watching me," she said. She bought a lottery ticket after her 
good fortune. "I lost," she said.

"It was definitely a firefight," Mr. Emery added. "There were shots going 
in every direction." He said neighbors knew drug activity took place at 34 
Walnut St., but never had anything like the gunfight taken place. Angela 
Emery, Steven and Esther's daughter, was on the porch when she saw people 
approaching 34 Walnut St. and ran inside as the shots rang out. Larissa 
Brennan of Florida, a Fitchburg native visiting family members, was shot in 
the right leg while running to cover up Ms. Emery's 7-month-old daughter, 
Anniesse, who was asleep in a first-floor bedroom. A bullet hole was left 
in the center of the window. The infant napped in the same room again 
yesterday afternoon.

A second person, identified in court records as Jason Jackson, later showed 
up at HealthAlliance Leominster Hospital with a gunshot wound to the 
abdomen. Police said he was transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center -- 
University Campus in Worcester, but an administrative manager on duty 
yesterday afternoon had no information on a patient by that name. Ms. Emery 
said her friend "Jay," whose last name she did not know, had been at 24 
Walnut St. when he was injured. He arrived at the hospital later, she said, 
because he initially hadn't realized he had been shot. Another shot 
apparently struck a utility wire, cutting power to the area, Assistant 
District Attorney John Madaio told Judge Andrew L. Mandell Jr. at Mr. 
Gonzalez's arraignment.

Officer Tabitha A. Pepple was responding to the scene when she saw a man -- 
later identified as Mr. Gonzalez -- running along Payson Street toward 
South Street clutching a black handgun. Mr. Gonzalez allegedly threw the 
gun aside before being arrested.

The gun had 10 bullets in the clip and one round jammed in the chamber, 
Capt. Carbone said. Mr. Gonzalez denied firing the gun, claiming he was on 
Walnut Street visiting friends when those who did the shooting arrived. He 
said one man dropped the gun, then he picked it up and ran away. "They were 
shooting at me," he told Officer Pepple as she took him into custody.
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