Prosecutor: Woman helped mall murder suspect hide; authorities name alleged shooter
QUINCY – Law enforcement officials Friday asked the public to help them find the man they say shot and killed a 26-year-old inside South Shore Plaza on Jan 22. The request came hours after an Attleboro woman was arraigned for allegedly helping the suspect escape and hide out after the fatal shooting.
Julius Hammond-Desir, 19, of Maynard, is wanted for murder, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey and Braintree Police Chief Mark Dubois said in a joint statement Friday afternoon.
“A murder arrest warrant has issued for Julius Hammond-Desir for shooting and killing Dijoun Beasley at the South Shore Plaza on Saturday,” Morrissey said in the statement. “Massachusetts State Police homicide detectives assigned to my office have been working with Braintree Police since the Saturday attack, and we are now in a position to request the public’s assistance.”
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Morrissey and Dubois said Hammond-Desir may have changed his appearance since the shooting.
“The allegations are that Mr. Hammond-Desir shot an unarmed man to death at close range, so we urge you not to approach him but to call 911 if you see him," they said.
Samantha Schwartz, 27, was arraigned Friday morning in Quincy District Court on a charge of accessory after the fact of murder. A not guilty plea was entered. Judge Maurice Flynn set bail at $20,000 cash and scheduled a probable cause hearing for Feb. 18.
Dijoun Beasley, 26, of Dorchester, died after he was shot in the head near the mall's Forever 21 store at 2:58 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22. Assistant District Attorney Anne Yas said the suspect confronted Beasley and shot him 70 seconds later.
"The shooter ran and this defendant followed," Yas said of Schwartz. "This defendant helped him escape."
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Beasley was at the mall with a girlfriend and a 3-year-old child when he was shot.
Yas said Schwartz drove the suspect to an apartment where he hid, contacted him while he was hiding and even brought him food.
She then dropped out of sight and left her two children in the care of others, Yas said. She moved around, changed her social media settings and stayed off her cellphone, Yas said. She said Schwartz sent someone to her home on Forest Street in Attleboro in the middle of the night to pick up her car in an effort not to tip off investigators to her location.
"She kept herself out of the public eye," Yas said.
Yas asked Flynn to set bail at $200,000 cash and asked that Schwartz be required to wear a tracking device if released. She described Schwartz as "a flight risk."
Defense lawyer Christopher Malcolm said Schwartz was on her way to Quincy District Court to turn herself in at 3 p.m. Thursday when she was arrested by Braintree and State Police and taken to the Braintree police station for booking. She spent the night at the police station.
"We came as soon as we knew there would be charges," Malcolm told the court.
He described his client as terrified.
"Shots go off, and she's terrified like everybody else," Malcolm said.
He said she dropped out of sight out of concern for her own safety.
"She's terrified. She's received threat after threat after threat," Malcolm said.
He asked that Schwartz be released on her promise to return to court.
Several of Beasley's relatives and friends, including his mother, attended the arraignment and left without comment.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Woman charged with helping mall murder suspect escape and hide
