A deadly shooting in Waltham, Massachusetts, this May began with an argument on a Snapchat group call and took place while the call was still going, prosecutors said Friday.
They were in Waltham District Court for the arraignment of Josh Pierre, the Waltham man accused of fatally shooting Shelson Jules, 22, in the city early in the morning on May 22, 2023. A not guilty plea was entered on Pierre's behalf and the 21-year-old, who was arrested in Florida last month, was held without bail.
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The gunfire on Lyman Street near Faneuil Road damaged a nearby home and pickup truck, and left neighbors shocked. Prosecutors said that investigators found witnesses to the incident who told them it unfolded over a call on Snapchat.
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"There was this very intense argument which escalated to a point at which [Jules, Pierre and another man] were trying to essentially rendezvous to basically fight," assistant district attorney Graham Van Epps said.
"This call continued until there were gunshots heard," he added.
People who were at the intersection where the argument spilled from social media into real life described Jules going up to the car that Pierre was in, brandishing his own pistol and then going back to his own car, prosecutors said.
He put his gun on the roof of his car, "essentially indicating that they would settle things with fists," Van Epps said, and Pierre got out, which led to the pair shoving and then punching each other.
"At one point, Mr. Jules reached for where his gun had been but it slipped off the car and fell," Van Epps said. "One of the witnesses, who had been trying to separate them, was looking at him, described seeing him look with horror at whoever was behind him — being Mr. Pierre."
Jules ran off, Van Epps said, but the witness heard a gun firing extremely close to him and saw Jules fall to the ground. They allegedly ran back into the car and drove off, but not before the witness grabbed Jules' phone and another man they were with grabbed Jules' gun.
Prosecutors said investigators were able to track down the suspects thanks to Jules' phone, which a homeowner in rural Lincoln found about two days afterward while getting his morning paper at the end of his driveway. When it powered back on, prosecutors were able to find it — they used it and other information to track the phone and the suspects to Manchester, New Hampshire.
While the investigation unfolded, Pierre made his way to Florida, where U.S. Marshals spotted him on Sept. 22, arresting him after a foot chase in Miramar, prosecutors said.
Pierre is due back in court Nov. 8.
