On a cold winter day in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 11, 2018, the life of a 22-year-old Black / African American man, Alexander Mervin, was tragically cut short. In the early afternoon, around 1:45 p.m., police responded to reports of gunfire at 31 Whittier Street in the Roxbury neighborhood. Upon arrival, they discovered Mervin suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
He was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was later pronounced dead.
The investigation into Mervin's death, which was the city's first homicide of 2018, continued for nearly four months before authorities made a significant breakthrough. On April 29, 2018, the Boston Police Department's Fugitive Apprehension Unit located and arrested 19-year-old Jerion Moore of Stoughton in connection with the fatal shooting. Moore was taken into custody on Stratton Street in Dorchester and subsequently charged with murder.
Further investigation led to the identification of a second suspect, 18-year-old Nicholas Sicellon of Dorchester. At the time he was charged in Mervin's murder, Sicellon was already incarcerated on an unrelated matter. Both Moore and Sicellon had been arrested on separate gun charges in the weeks following the shooting. Moore had been out on bail from his prior arrest when he was apprehended for Mervin's death. The two young men were arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court to face charges for their alleged roles in the killing of Alexander Mervin.
