An Everett man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after he was convicted of murdering Kevin Raymond, of Somerville, in 2017, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced in a statement.
Tony Dyshaun Harris, 34, was previously found guilty of murder on June 6 by a Middlesex Superior Court jury, Ryan’s office said. Harris was also found guilty of carrying a gun without a license, possession of ammunition without a license and carrying a loaded gun without a license.
Over a month later on July 27, Judge Cathleen Campbell found Harris guilty of being an armed career criminal, based on two 2007 convictions for armed assault to murder and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, Ryan’s office said. On Thursday, Campbell’s life in prison sentence carries the chance for parole at 25 years on the charge of murder and five years and one day concurrent with the murder, and on the armed career criminal charges.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, at around 3:40 a.m., Somerville police received 911 calls reporting gunshots in the area of Jacques Street. Officers determined that gunshots were fired in the parking lot behind 20 Canal Lane, part of a housing development operated by the Somerville Housing Authority.
Officers found a revolver and a gold chain in the parking lot, both of which had Harris’ DNA on them, Ryan’s office said. Raymond was shot in the parking lot and taken to CHA Hospital. He received three gunshot wounds and died right after he arrived at the hospital.
Investigators found several videos that showed Harris driving a vehicle that matched the suspect vehicle’s description in and around the area where Raymond was killed before and after the shooting, Ryan’s office said. Investigators also saw footage of Harris wearing the exact same gold chain. When police inspected Harris’ car, Raymond’s blood was found inside.
On Nov. 3, 2017, Harris was arrested, Ryan’s office said.
“We will not allow this kind of gun violence to go unchecked in Middlesex County,” Ryan said in a statement. “As Harris’s conviction on all of these charges illustrates, we have an unswerving commitment to prosecuting these cases. We will pursue every avenue to hold those defendants, such as Harris, who repeatedly engage in violence and threaten the safety of others, fully accountable.”
