http://www.telegram.com/article/20080426/NEWS/804260357/0/FRONTPAGE
Saturday, April 26, 2008
18-year-old’s slaying pierces family
Suspect charged with murder in Fitchburg
By Anna L. Griffin TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]
FITCHBURG— Family members of 18-year-old slaying victim Gabrielle Cintron stood in shock and disbelief outside Fitchburg District Court yesterday afternoon after the arraignment of the man police said shot him.
The victim “was like a brother to me,” said Alex Medina, 19, of Fitchburg. Mr. Medina was one of a dozen members of Mr. Cintron’s extended family — aunts, uncles and cousins — who attended the arraignment. “He just came here to get a job, to make some money to help his mother out. That’s all he wanted to do. He never hurt anyone. He was an incredibly nice person.”
Family members said they were returning from church services when they received a telephone call that Mr. Cintron was fatally wounded. Mr. Cintron was living with his aunt at 69 Bemis Road at the time of his death, although sometimes he stayed at the apartment of his girlfriend.
“He was a real nice guy. He never got into trouble,” said his cousin, Eunices Gonzalez of Fitchburg. “We never knew him to have problems with anyone.”
His family described him as a sweet and caring person who loved music and particularly loved to dance.
Mr. Medina said his cousin, who was from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, came to the United States to find work after graduating from high school.
“He did work a little for Waste Management. He was looking to help his family out — his mother out — financially. And this happens. It’s unreal.”
Mr. Cintron’s family said he did not know the man who is accused of killing him.
Andrew Jacob, 20, of 7 Omena Place, third floor, was arrested shortly after 6 a.m. yesterday for the slaying of Mr. Cintron. Mr. Jacob pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and resisting arrest during his arraignment in front of Judge Andrew L. Mandell. He is being held without bail and is due back in court May 29.
It is alleged that Mr. Jacob shot Mr. Cintron through an open window while Mr. Cintron was visiting a woman, whom police described as Mr. Cintron’s girlfriend, at 36 Normandy Road, at 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
Mr. Jacob and the woman had a previous relationship and have an 11-month-old child together. The relationship Mr. Jacob had with the woman was not a good one, according to Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
Mr. Early provided some of the details of the case during a press conference yesterday outside the courthouse after the arraignment. Mr. Early said the woman told police she was folding laundry on the first floor of the apartment when she heard a pop, saw a puff of smoke, and then found her boyfriend had fallen to the floor. He had been shot in the chest through an open window in the apartment.
Police, paramedic units and Fire Department personnel arrived shortly after she placed a 911 call at 10:24 p.m. Mr. Cintron was taken to UMass Memorial — HealthAlliance Leominster campus.
A Life Flight helicopter was called to the hospital, but was not needed because Mr. Cintron was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:06 p.m. as a result of the gunshot wound.
Mr. Early said additional police resources were called in to help with the investigation, including state police officers and crime scene investigators. During a search of a wooded area near where the shooting took place, police uncovered a loaded .22-caliber J.C. Higgins long rife wrapped in a hooded sweatshirt on the ground.
Because of the woman’s past involvement with Mr. Jacob, police decided to speak with him. Before speaking with him, police discovered Mr. Jacob had an outstanding warrant.
They went to his apartment early yesterday morning and, after a brief struggle, he was arrested under the outstanding warrant and for resisting arrest.
During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Marc W. Dupuis said it was while police were questioning Mr. Jacob that he made statements that led police to charge him with the murder of Mr. Cintron.
Judge Mandell noted Mr. Jacob had a two-page criminal history and has served time for assault and battery. Mr. Jacob’s lawyer, Christopher P. LoConto, did not object to the request for no bail, but did file a request for funds to help in a defense investigation on behalf of Mr. Jacob.
During the arraignment, a man who described himself as a friend of Mr. Jacob started making loud remarks and became verbally abusive toward a court officer when he was told to remain quiet. He was taken out of the courtroom by two police detectives.
The courtroom itself was cleared after the arraignment and those in attendance were told they had to leave the courthouse. Among those in the courtroom was the woman in whose apartment the slaying took place.
Her identity was not released by law enforcement officials, who characterized her as a victim as well. She refused to answer questions from a reporter. The woman was visibly shaken and could often be seen with her head in her hands.
After the arraignment, she was escorted out of the courthouse by a police officer and could be heard saying, “It had to be him,” several times as she made her way to her car parked outside the courthouse.
During the press conference, Mr. Early commended all of the departments involved in bringing the matter to such a swift conclusion.
He noted that within a period of eight hours after the slaying, key evidence had been collected and a suspect was under arrest.
The slaying remains under investigation, Mr. Early said. An autopsy was being performed on Mr. Cintron, but results were not available as of yesterday afternoon.
Before the arraignment, Mr. Early, Police Chief Robert A. DeMoura and Mayor Lisa A. Wong all spoke to the victim’s family as well as to the woman in whose apartment the slaying took place, expressing their concern and offering their condolences.
“This is such a sad event, for someone so young to lose their life,” said Ms. Wong, who also praised the Fitchburg Police Department, the state police and the district attorney’s office for their work on the case.
“It’s the result of a domestic violence incident and it mirrors headlines that we have seen across the state this past week,” Chief DeMoura said.
He said domestic abuse cases are the No. 1 issue facing the Police Department.
“We have more of those than any other type of case. It’s something we want to address, we have to address, in the city,” he said.
This was the second slaying in the city this year.
On Feb. 5, Israel Rodriguez Jr., 35, of 10 Winthrop St., died as the result of multiple stab wounds he suffered during an attack on Second Street, near Water Street.
Police found Mr. Rodriguez in his black Ford Expedition. All four tires of the vehicle had been flattened. No suspect has been named in that case; however, police did say they did not consider it to be a random act of violence and were looking at the victim’s social circle.
Green Acres Village Apartment Complex, where Mr. Cintron was slain Thursday night, has been relatively quiet in recent years, although it has seen its share of violent activities in the past. Three years ago, a man was shot in the abdomen on Leyte Road, also part of the complex.
The sprawling low-income development run by the Fitchburg Housing Authority is located between Wanoosnoc Road and Water Street and was one of many housing projects that went up quickly in the late 1940s and early 1950s to provide affordable housing for veterans and their families.
It was built on open land that was once part of the city’s poor farm.
New management for the housing complex was brought in after the 2005 shooting, and residents formed a neighborhood association.
Things appeared to be turning around for the complex.
Yesterday morning, as members of a professional cleaning service were cleaning up the apartment, a woman who also lives on Normandy Road said she thought the complex was a safe place to live until the events of Thursday evening.
“I was scared when I heard about it because I have children and this is very close to home,” said the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous. “From what I understand, this is not someone running around the city shooting people, so I feel a little bit better about that.
“But you don’t ever want to hear about an 18-year-old losing his life. It’s just so sad and what a waste of a life.”
Danielle M. Williamson of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.
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