3rd Suspect Pleads Not Guilty In Mattapan Murders

A third man charged in the shooting deaths of four people, including a 2-year-old boy in his mother's arms, supplied the weapons and drove the suspects to the scene, where the victims were marched outside and gunned down, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Prosecutor Edmond Zabin did not say who is believed to have fired the fatal shots.

Edward Washington, 31, of Boston, pleaded not guilty Thursday to four counts of murder during his arraignment in Dorchester District Court and was ordered held without bail. He was arrested Wednesday.

Washington's attorney, John H. Cunha Jr., said his client had no role in the shootings, which prosecutors say came after a drug robbery.

"He is innocent," Cunha said.

Another suspect, 33-year-old Dwayne Moore, previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, armed robbery and home invasion stemming from the Sept. 28 shootings, which also wounded a fifth victim.

And Washington's cousin, Kimani Washington, 34, pleaded not guilty to gun and drug charges. Authorities say he stashed the murder weapons in his mother's house. He hasn't been charged with murder.

Killed in the shootings were 2-year-old Amani Smith; his mother, 21-year-old Eyanna Flonory; her boyfriend, 21-year-old Simba Martin; and 22-year-old Levaughn Washum-Garrison. The survivor, 32-year-old Marcus Hurd, remains in critical condition.

Zabin said in court Thursday that Edward Washington met with the other suspects before the attack, supplied two firearms and drove them to Sutton Street, where Martin lived.

He said the three men planned to rob Martin, a drug dealer, and that Moore lured Martin out of a Sutton Street house with a phone call as Hurd coincidentally arrived to complete a drug deal.

Zabin said the three suspects then forced Martin and Hurd inside the house and stole cash, cocaine, a television and a safe. He said Kimani Washington left the scene at some point in Hurd's SUV.

Edward Washington and Moore then forced the five victims outside at gunpoint, marched them onto neighboring Woolson Street and shot them, killing everyone but Hurd, Zabin said. Martin and Hurd were naked and Washum-Garrison was partially dressed. Flonory died with her son in her arms.

The Boston Globe reported that Edward Washington was acquitted of federal racketeering charges in 2006 after spending five years in prison awaiting trial.

Prosecutors tried to prove Washington was a member of a gang that was a racketeering enterprise responsible for several shootings, but the trial ended in a hung jury. Judge Nancy Gertner acquitted Washington and his co-defendant, saying prosecutors were unable to prove the gang was an organized criminal group, according to the Globe.

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