'This is tragic': Brockton 15-year-old held without bail on murder charge

BROCKTON — A second Brockton teen is being held without bail in the killing of Fabio Andrade-Monteiro as prosecutors revealed new details about the leadup to the 22-year-old's death.

Judge Paula Clifford rejected defense arguments and denied bail to 15-year-old Jeremy Depina of Brockton on a murder charge. He pleaded not guilty. Last week, a judge ordered Depina's co-defendant, 17-year-old Tashawn Brown, also held without bail.

Prosecutors haven't said publicly who they believe pulled the trigger.

They described three people in hoodies being caught on a Spring Street home security camera Feb. 10 as they approached a van parked at 102 Ash St. Andrade-Monteiro sat inside with a friend.

Andrade-Monteiro, who was sitting in the driver's seat, turned his head to the left and said something like, "Look at that green laser," before he was hit by a single bullet to the head, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Gedraitis alleged Monday. Investigators found a 9mm shell casing at the scene, he said.

Gedraitis, in making the state's case that Depina should be held without bail, alleged that on Feb. 2, the 15-year-old cut off the tracking bracelet that the Department of Youth Services required him to wear. Depina's phone, Gedraitis alleged, showed Depina traveling the night of the killing from an Arthur Paquin Way home to Spring Street near the scene of the shooting at 102 Ash St.

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Brian Kelley, Depina's attorney, pushed back on that narrative. He asked the judge to consider imposing a $50,000 bond given that the state has not produced witnesses who place Depina at the crime scene. Kelley argued that phone records marked that Depina's phone was in the general area at 11:02 p.m., 11:04 p.m. and 11:26 p.m., but not at the time of the shooting: 11:14 p.m.

"It's not unusual for a kid from Brockton to be in that area," Kelley said.

The defense attorney further argued that Depina did not present a flight risk because he had remained in the Brockton area after the shooting. Authorities arrested Depina late Thursday in Taunton, according to the office of Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

Depina said nothing during the hearing, which he listened to from behind a Plexiglass screen in the courtroom. He wore a gray Nike hoodie.

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Earlier shooting alleged

In arguing that Depina should be held without bail, Gedraitis described a Feb. 2 fusillade that prefigured the fatal shooting eight days later. The prosecutor said eight shots were fired at 102 Ash St. and a vehicle parked there, and that police found eight shell casings in the area.

Gedraitis repeated several allegations from last week's arraignment of Brown. They included that home security video shows a car pulling into a Spring Street parking space, positioned so that its headlights were aimed at 102 Ash St. Gedraitis said that, as the three people wearing hoodies approached, the car flashed its lights and drove away.

The judge accepted a motion by the commonwealth to seal records in the case, as the investigation is ongoing. In addition to prosecutors and investigators, only the defense will be allowed to see them until they are unsealed.

Prosecutors have not publicly presented a theory for why Andrade-Monteiro was killed. Both teens' next court date is March 17 for probable cause hearings.

Reached outside the courtroom, the district attorney said his thoughts and prayers were with the family of Andrade-Monteiro.

"This is tragic. This is senseless," said Cruz. "We have a 17- and a 15-year-old person in custody for this terrible event. Our plan is to make sure we get justice for the family and justice for the community."

Juvenile court cases plummet

The murder charges against the two teens come against a backdrop, at least statistically, of declining youth crime. In numbers presented last week to Brockton City Council, Cruz highlighted a 48% drop in juvenile court cases from 2012 to 2021. Those numbers include juvenile court in Brockton, Hingham, Plymouth and Wareham.

"I think that there's been a lot of really good work done by a lot of people on the diversionary end of it, whether it be pre-arraignment diversion, post-diversion, adult diversion, lots of different cases are being kept out of the system," said Cruz, "and if we continue to do that, hopefully we'll be able to see those numbers go down even further."

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton Fabio Andrade-Monteiro murder: Jeremy Depina held without bail