Three men have been indicted on first-degree murder charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a hardware store owner in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood over the summer.
Christian Soto-Olivero, 21, of Mattapan, Jerome D. Hobson, 38, of Dorchester, and Shawn Redden, 26, of Brockton, also face charges of armed robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm for the July 18 shooting at AC Hardware, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office.
Police said Andres Cruz was shot in an apparent robbery attempt. He was alone at the time of the incident and there appeared to have been a struggle.
Cruz was shot at least one time before the three suspects fled the scene.
The suspects were arrested a few blocks away thanks to nearby witnesses, who found Cruz mortally wounded and observed one of the fleeing men bleeding badly.
At the time, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans called the shooting cowardly.
"This was brazen daytime shooting of a good, well-respected man doing the right thing.” Evans said. "It's troubling to us when the store owner works so hard doing the right thing and something like this happens."
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The suspects have been held without bail since the shooting. Wednesday's indictment moves their cases to Suffolk Superior Court, where they are expected to be arraigned at a later date.
