Do you know who murdered Marquis? In the evening hours of February 4, 2016, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet of a Roxbury neighborhood, leaving a young man's life tragically cut short. Marquis Waithe, a 22-year-old African-American male, was found suffering from a gunshot wound outside an apartment building on Brookledge Street. Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead.
Waithe, a resident of Roxbury, was remembered by friends and family as a friendly and outgoing person who was involved in his church and had volunteered to help feed the homeless.
The investigation into Waithe's death continued for over a year without an arrest. Then, in July 2017, a significant breakthrough occurred when the Suffolk County District Attorney's office announced the indictments of two men for his murder. Jonathan Aguasvivas, 24, and Calvin Boykins, 25, were charged in connection with the fatal shooting. At the time of his indictment for Waithe's death, Aguasvivas was already incarcerated, being held without bail on charges for a separate murder that occurred just months after Waithe was killed.
Prosecutors laid out their case, alleging that Boykins and Aguasvivas traveled to Brookledge Street together with the intent to commit the crime. It was alleged that Boykins assisted Aguasvivas in gaining access through a building to a parking lot. There, Aguasvivas is said to have produced a handgun and opened fire on a group of people, striking and fatally wounding Waithe. Boykins was charged with murder under the theory of joint venture, with prosecutors asserting that he assisted in the homicide and shared Aguasvivas's intent.
The legal proceedings that followed took another turn in March 2019. After a trial in Suffolk Superior Court, a jury acquitted both Jonathan Aguasvivas and Calvin Boykins of first-degree murder in the death of Marquis Waithe. Despite the acquittal in Waithe's case, Aguasvivas remained in custody facing legal consequences for the other murder charge against him.
