Brothers get 4 years in jail for shooting at home

Mar. 4—Two brothers charged with shooting bullets at a home with people inside in the middle of the day were sentenced to four years in jail after pleading guilty.

Police said the shooting happened just before 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2019, in the thickly settled Mount Washington neighborhood. The target was a home which was shot at two other times in previous months, police said.

Brothers Aidan Rodriguez, 21, of Lawrence and Isaac Rodriguez, 20, of Haverhill were charged in the shooting.

The brothers were members of the Gangsta Disciples gang, police said at the time of their arrests. A member of the Trinitario gang was living on the first floor of the home at 65 Jackson St. Extension when the shooting happened, according to police.

Haverhill detectives called the shooting "brazen" and "reckless," and said in a report that residents were home at the time of the incident, but no injuries were reported.

Police said a surveillance video shows Aidan Rodriguez shooting the gun at the building and later passing the weapon to his brother.

The Rodriguez brothers appeared before Judge Thomas Dreschler recently in Salem Superior Court.

After the men pleaded guilty to possession of an unlicensed firearm, the judge sentenced each of them to 2 1/2 years in jail and an additional 18 months in jail after they pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded firearm.

The brothers were also ordered to serve two years of probation after they are released from jail. The probation order came after each man pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a gun). Each man was credited with 418 days served — time they were held after their arrests.

Assistant District Attorney Alex Grimes recommended each man receive 4 1/2 to 5 years in jail, with two years probation.

The men were held without bail in Middleton jail after being arraigned in Haverhill District Court Dec. 30, 2019.

The judge also ordered them to have no contact with victims in the case, to get a job or seek employment upon their release, and not possess any dangerous weapons.

Aidan Rodriguez was represented by defense lawyer Ronald Ranta. Issac Rodriguez was represented by defense lawyer Timothy Connors.

According to a police report, Officer Ryan Barbera was in a cruiser patrolling the High Street area the afternoon of the shooting and heard two gunshots. He saw two men run across High Street in the direction of Washington Street, so he sent out a call to all officers, giving them a description of the men, according to the report.

A short time later, Officer Chery Victoria saw two men matching the description given by Barbera walking on nearby Tremont Street and ordered them to stop, according to the report. While Victoria was putting his cruiser in park, one of the men reached into his jacket pocket, the report said.

As Victoria got out of the cruiser, he ordered the men to put their hands on their heads, the report said. Isaac Rodriguez then ran, according to the report. Aidan Rodriguez did not run initially, but did try to flee a few moments later, the report said.

Police chased Isaac Rodriguez and the pursuit ended when he tossed away a black handgun in the area of 44 High St., according to the report. A revolver was later recovered from the sidewalk, police said.