Boston police announced an arrest Thursday in connection with a shooting death in the parking lot of a McDonald's in the city's Dorchester neighborhood last week.
Deonarine Ganga, 29, was already in police custody on previous charges when he was charged with murder, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.
Ganga is accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Joey DeBarros outside of the McDonald's on Gallivan Boulevard.
On Thursday morning, homicide detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Ganga in connection to the murder. He was being held at Suffolk County Jail following his arrest on April 14 for allegedly violating his probation.
On April 13, police responded to a report of a person shot in the area of 511 Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester.
When they arrived at the scene, officers found a male victim, later identified as DeBarros, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. DeBarros had allegedly become involved in a verbal altercation with Ganga during a traffic dispute near the corner of Granite Avenue. Ganga allegedly fired a handgun, hitting DeBarros, who had left his own vehicle.
DeBarros was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he later died.
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The car allegedly occupied by Ganga left the area, but witnesses provided investigators with a description of the car and a partial plate number. That information led investigators to review earlier records, which revealed that the car was registered to a Dorchester woman associated with Ganga.
During the course of their investigation, homicide detectives learned of an ongoing investigation into an April 7 incident at a Dorchester Avenue business. In that case, two customers became involved in an argument and one of them allegedly flashed a handgun and racked the slide in a threatening manner before leaving in a vehicle similar to the one involved in DeBarros’s homicide.
Ganga was charged on Monday with the April 7 assault incident while the homicide investigation was ongoing.
"We are pleased that we were able to arrest and charge the suspect for this brazen daytime shooting and for his involvement in the earlier assault," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said. "We hope that these charges bring some peace to the DeBarros family during what is surely a most difficult time."
Ganga was arraigned Wednesday in Dorchester Municipal Court and is scheduled to return to court on May 18. It's unclear if he has an attorney.
