A Needham juvenile is being held without bail after being charged in the Oct. 13 shooting death of 61-year-old Maria Molea-Anthony at a bus stop not far from the Roxbury women’s shelter where she often stayed.
In a hearing on March 23 in Boston Municipal Court, Jacob Donis, 16, entered a not guilty plea to one count each of murder, armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license.
He is being tried as an adult due to the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1996, which provides that all juveniles ages 14 and older charged with murder are automatically treated as adults.
Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee said police have compiled surveillance footage that tracks Donis’ path from Needham to the shooting scene and back. He was riding one of Boston’s BLUEbikes, a bikeshare program, when he approached a Silver Line bus stop on Washington Street where Molea-Anthony was standing, Lee said.
Lee did not provide any information on a connection between Donis and the victim, but said Donis fired two shots; one of which struck Molea in the torso and penetrated her femoral artery.
Donis has been in state custody since being arrested in late December after Boston police found a loaded gun in his pocket while conducting a frisk in Roxbury. Officers were driving on Dudley Street when they saw the boy running at a full sprint toward Nubian Station, police said at the time. Officers stopped him because he appeared to be holding something inside his front pocket, police said.
His court-appointed attorney, Stephen Weymouth, said he has been representing Donis since Jan. 15.
“A friend of mine was representing Jacob on other matters,” Weymouth said. “He found out that there might be an investigation around the homicide case, and he contacted me and then contacted CPCS (Committee for Public Counsel Services).”
“That’s how I got the appointment on the case,” he said, noting he is not representing Donis on the other charges he is facing.
Weymouth said the next step is for the Commonwealth to present its case to a grand jury.
“I’m sure the grand jury will return an indictment against this young man,” he said of the relatively low bar required for a grand jury indictment. “And the next appearance after that is in the superior court where the whole process starts all over again.”
Judge James Coffey set a May 20 court date for a probable cause hearing.
School Superintendent Dan Gutekanst said he would not comment on the matter. “I will only say this is an awful tragedy for both families — the victim’s family and for Jacob’s family.”
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