In the courtroom: Taunton man pleads not guilty to charges in Falmouth stabbing death

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to incorrect information provided to the Times, a correction was made on June 13, 2023, to the name of the deceased man.

FALMOUTH — A Taunton man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in Falmouth District Court to criminal charges in connection with a fatal stabbing Saturday afternoon at an apartment complex off East Falmouth Highway.

Adrian Black, 22, was arraigned on one count of murder and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Nineteen-year-old Milteer Hendricks of Falmouth was stabbed multiple times on Saturday at Gosnold Grove apartments in Falmouth. Police found him bleeding from what appeared to be a stab wound around 4:45 p.m. Saturday at the apartment complex, according to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office.

Hendricks was taken by ambulance to Falmouth Hospital before being flown by helicopter to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He died Saturday morning.

Black’s attorney, John Geary, entered his client's not-guilty plea before Judge Lisa Edmonds on Tuesday. Geary did not contest the prosecution’s request told hold Black without bail, but requested his hold be without prejudice, so that he may contest it later.

Prosecution gives a version of Saturday events

Surveillance camera footage obtained by Falmouth police, Assistant District Attorney Tara M. Cappola said in court, showed the confrontation on Saturday began when five men got out of a car in the Gosnold Grove complex and approached Hendricks and a group he was with. The men began attacking Hendricks then, initiating a fistfight, according to the prosecutor.

Black could be seen in the group, Cappola said. She said authorities have a picture from the scene that is “obviously the defendant.”

At one point during the fight, a person could be seen making multiple stabbing motions at Hendricks and he was left on the ground, the prosecutor said the surveillance footage showed. Black admitted to the police after his arrest he was in the group and had a boxcutter out while punching Hendricks repeatedly, though he denied having a knife, according to Cappola.

In their investigation, police identified the owner of the car that the five men were riding in, according to comments made in court. Via his social media, authorities were able to track down Black.

A warrant was issued for Black on Monday and later in the day, he was arrested by Taunton police and the Massachusetts State Police, according to the district attorney's office.

Emotional response at Falmouth courthouse

Relatives and friends of Hendricks were present in the courtroom for Black’s arraignment. As bailiffs brought Black in shackles into the courtroom, Edmonds warned the audience against disrupting the proceedings.

As Cappola described the incident, several people murmured, and several were brought to tears.

After the hearing concluded, around a dozen police officers followed the crowd out to the parking lot.

The next court date is set for Aug. 16.

Two previous stabbings in Falmouth

Last October, a fatal stabbing occurred one block away from the scene of Saturday’s incident, at 442 East Falmouth Highway. The victim, Corey Lowe, was brought to a Boston-area hospital but died the next day.

Just a month prior, in September 2022, another fatal stabbing took place nearby, at 250 Davisville Road in East Falmouth. The victim, Douglas Rose, died of his wounds in Falmouth Hospital.

Between the two cases from last fall, there are five defendants that have been indicted on murder charges, according to court officials. Court cases are pending on all five, and four have hearing dates set for this summer.

Gosnold Grove is a 33-unit apartment complex owned by Wingate, which is based in Newton.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Milteer Hendricks family, friends watch as Adrian Black is arraigned