Man charged with murder near Boston Common was recently arrested on gun charge
Ashlie Jeremie, the man charged with a murder near Boston Common Wednesday, was arrested earlier this summer on a gun charge, according to court records.
Jeremie, 27, of Bedford, Massachusetts, is charged with murder, assault and larceny in connection with two attacks Wednesday. He appeared briefly in Boston Municipal Court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge ordered him held without bail and sent him to Bridgewater State Hospital to have a mental health evaluation.
Police said Jeremie attacked a man at the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets near the Boylston MBTA station just after 5 a.m. Wednesday and took off. The man, identified Friday as 35-year-old Jonathan Sanon of Norwood, was rushed to Tufts Medical Center where he died. There's no word yet on a motive for the attack or how Sanon died.
A pool of blood, a brick and a pair of shoes were seen on the ground in front of the T stop. Investigators photographed the items and put them in evidence bags.
About four hours later, Boston Police were called a few blocks away to Beach Street where they arrested a man for an assault there.
The man, later identified by police as Jeremie, had allegedly hit someone with a metal pole. That victim was taken to a hospital. Police said they later connected Jeremie to the attack at Boylston and Tremont streets and then charged him with murder.
He's due back in court on Aug. 11.
Ashlie Jeremie previous arrest
According to court documents obtained by WBZ-TV, Jeremie was arrested back on May 18 after he allegedly tried to bring a loaded handgun in a backpack into the Tip O'Neill federal building in Boston. He was released on $2,500 bail on July 6.
Rishi Shukla, the co-founder of the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association, sent a letter to the city last week about the increase in crime.
"Want to make sure that we have an increased presence here in downtown, especially in light of what happened over the last two-and-a-half to three weeks. We've had five people shot over the course of two-and-a-half weeks, we had a stabbing, and yesterday, unfortunately, we had a homicide," he said.
Shukla helped form a task force about a year-and-a-half ago to address violent crime downtown. Now he's calling for that task force to reconvene.
"To have something like that happen on the Common is not just bad for the neighborhood, it's bad for the city. And what happens in downtown impacts all of our neighborhoods," Shukla said.
"We don't have enough police officers"
"We don't have enough police officers. Residents don't feel safe. And a lot of workers don't feel safe either," said Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, who is a member of that task force.
He called a meeting two days ago that brought together residents, city leaders, and local and college police departments.
"Work with police to request more police resources. Working with district attorney, the court system, holding people accountable for their criminal behavior," Flynn told WBZ.
Shukla is calling for the city to step up. "We want to see increased law enforcement presence," Shukla said. "We want it to be a sustained solution, not a bandage solution. And so, this is going to require a few months of sustained effort."
