Gerald Vick, 33, of Dorchester was found guilty on multiple firearm charges this week all tied to an August 2023 shooting at the J’Ouvert parade on Talbot Avenue that injured eight people.
In two separate trials, Suffolk County jurors found Vick guilty on four counts, including carrying a firearm without a license (second offense), carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a machine gun.
Vick is due back in Suffolk Superior Court today for a habitual offender portion of the proceedings.
Prosecutors said Vick cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet and fled before a scheduled December 2024 court appearance. Authorities later apprehended him in Georgia after six months on the run.
The shooting erupted during the early morning hours of Aug. 26, 2023, near Talbot Avenue during the Caribbean festival celebration. Police said officers monitoring the event observed two groups confronting one another from opposite sides of the street before gunfire broke out, sending hundreds of parade-goers scrambling for cover.
Eight people were struck by gunfire, though none suffered fatal injuries.
Investigators said surveillance video captured the confrontation and shooting. Prosecutors alleged Vick was part of a group gathered near the Boys and Girls Club parking lot, while another group — including co-defendants Dwayne Francis and Sebastian Monteiro — stood across the street near Always Open Towing.
Police recovered 20 shell casings and a bullet fragment from the scene. Authorities said Vick was arrested at the scene with a firearm fitted with a “switch” conversion device that allowed it to function as a machine gun. The weapon was loaded with 27 rounds in a magazine capable of holding 32 rounds. Ballistics testing later linked five shell casings to that firearm.
Francis, 31, of Dorchester, still faces charges including unlawful firearm possession, carrying a loaded firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. His trial is scheduled for June 1.
Monteiro, 22, of Boston, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to assault with a dangerous weapon and firearm charges. He was sentenced to four years in state prison followed by one year of probation.
“This was a brazen, unconscionable act of violence made all the worse by being committed in the middle of one of our city’s proudest cultural events, attended by thousands,” DA Kevin Hayden said in a statement.
