Man says he was wrongly ID'd in Boston murder, spent 5 weeks in jail

BOSTON — A local man is fighting for justice after he spent weeks in jail for a crime he may not have committed.

The family of Kevin Williams tells Boston 25 News he was falsely arrested and charged with murder after a gas station attendant was shot and killed in Dorchester. Williams spent five weeks in jail but is now out after a grand jury decided there isn't enough evidence that he was the killer.

Man says he was wrongly ID'd in Boston murder, spent 5 weeks in jail Man says he was wrongly ID'd in Boston murder, spent 5 weeks in jail

It was a bloody Columbus Day weekend in Boston; five people were killed including 67-year-old Jose Phinn Williams who was gunned down while working at Fabian's Market and gas station in Dorchester. Kevin Williams, who has no criminal history and was unarmed, was stopped and arrested based on an eyewitness description.

Williams' attorney tells us he was at home with his mother packing for the family's move that next morning when the shooting occurred. When he left the house to visit his girlfriend a few blocks away from the homicide, Boston Police arrested him and later charged him with gun charges and murder.

Williams spent five weeks in jail until last week, when prosecutors recommended that he be released without bail and on his own recognizance while they continue to gather facts and evidence.

Boston 25 News asked the district attorney if charges will be dropped:

"We'll follow the facts wherever they lead and act on them appropriately, as we do in every case. The charges remain in place at this point, though."

Williams' mother Regina Hunter tells Boston 25 her son lost his job and has to seek counseling for the emotional trauma. She also told us both she and Kevin offer sincere condolences to the victim's family and grieve his loss, but that there has been an extreme injustice in identifying her son as the suspect.

On Thursday, Boston 25 was the first to talk to Hunter.

Hunter describes the day her son was packed and ready to go to their new house -- but instead was stopped by police, following a call from her son's female friend

"Shortly after he walks out the door, I see police cars," she said. "It is my son's female friend telling me that the police have my son hemmed up on her stairs."

Hunter then ran over to the friend's house where police told her Kevin matched the description of a suspect in an armed robbery and murder that happened that night.

"I get a call, I don't know, after 3 in the morning with my son," she said. "With my son telling me that he is being booked for armed robbery and attempted murder."

Kevin's attorney, Aviva Jeruchim said the description of the suspect was a light skinned black male wearing a black and red facemask.

"My client's mother directly told them there was a camera directly across the street," said Jeruchim. "They could've pulled that camera surveillance immediately and instead they didn't."

Kevin, a 21-year-old with no criminal record, spent five weeks in jail.

On November 9th, prosecutors released Kevin on his own personal recognizance -- no bail, no monitoring.

Kevin's family and legal team weren't notified until after the hearing.

Now Kevin's family wants an apology and the charges dropped.

Hunter said she prays for the victim's family every night. But she wants them to know her son did not do this.

Williams is due back in court on Nov. 19. His attorneys hope prosecutors will drop all charges by then.

Related: Man says police misconduct led to wrongful conviction

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