Almonte pleads guilty to 2018 Haverhill drive-by shooting murder
Sep. 22—LAWRENCE — Newly convicted murderer Eddy Manuel Almonte was sent to state prison. But Michelee Geronimo, mother of murder victim Nike Colon, said she and her family were the ones that got the harshest sentence of all.
"You think time behind bars is hard ... We have to live without Nike," said Geronimo, openly crying as she addressed a Lawrence Superior Court judge.
Almonte, 31, pleaded guilty Wednesday to the second degree murder of Colon, 20, on May 17, 2018 in Haverhill.
Colon, a passenger in a vehicle, was shot in the head by Almonte in a gang-related drive-by shooting at Washington and Shepherd streets, authorities said.
Colon died from a single gunshot wound to the head. No weapon was found on him, said prosecutor Karen Hopwood.
Judge William Barrett sentenced Almonte to life in state prison with the possibility of parole after 18-1/2 years — a sentence previously agreed upon by the prosecution and defense.
Almonte additionally pleaded guilty to assault with a firearm and illegal possession of a firearm without a license. He was sentenced to 17 to 20 years in state prison — sentences that can be served concurrently with the life sentence with parole possibility.
He was given credit for 1,575 days he's already served in jail since his arrest on May 28, 2018 after he fled to Winchester, Virginia.
Speaking in court Wednesday, Geronimo, wrought with emotion, said she felt the sentence was "too kind."
Relatives and friends, also tearful, sat in the courtroom gallery behind her.
One of her five children, Geronimo said Colon had just started to live his life and figure out what he needed. Her son had a distinctive, a raspy laugh that made everyone around him start chuckling too.
She sobbed as she explained how she would never see him marry or have his own children.
"All we have left is memories that play in a loop," Geronimo said. She submitted two photos of her son for the judge to see Wednesday.
Geronimo promised she and family members would be at any and every parole hearing to fight against his freedom.
"We will make sure you don't see outside of the prison walls," she said.
Almonte, questioned by the judge during the plea hearing, said he was born in the Dominican Republic and had not attended school past ninth grade. He has a young son.
When Judge Barrett asked him why he was in court Wednesday, Almonte replied "to plead guilty." An interpreter translated the entire hearing from English to Spanish for him.
Almonte spoke Wednesday in court first apologizing to Colon's family "for all the suffering I've caused." He said he wished he could go back in time and undue all "the pain and suffering for the family."
He also apologized to his dear mother for causing her pain and to his young son "that's not going to grow up with me."
"From the bottom of my heart, I ask him to forgive me," said Almonte, who also offered his apologies to the court.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.
