Tension outside court as Plymouth shooting suspect is arraigned

PLYMOUTH − After nearly a month evading capture, the suspect in a Plymouth fatal shooting was found hiding under a pile of laundry in a New Bedford apartment over the weekend, authorities say. He was taken into custody and ordered held without bail following his arraignment on a murder charge in Plymouth District Court on Monday.

John Geovanni Pires Monteiro Macedo, 20, of New Bedford, is accused of fatally shooting Robert Aponte-Flores, 25, also of New Bedford, multiple times July 12 after what several eyewitnesses said was a verbal altercation between the two men in a Fearing Pond picnic area of Myles Standish State Forest.

The shooting took place in front of several young children, including Aponte-Flores' 7-year-old son, authorities said.

Aponte-Flores' friends and family, some of whom were with him that day, were in the courtroom for the arraignment. They wore circular pendants with his photo in the center.

Macedo's friends were kept separated from Aponte-Flores' family.

A probable cause hearing has been set for Oct. 5.

A day at Myles Standish turns deadly

Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said Aponte-Flores was packing up from a barbecue and passed by a picnic table with a group that included Macedo.

Buckingham said the two men exchanged words as Aponte-Flores was carrying a box that included a knife to cut watermelon for the children. He reportedly dropped the box and the knife fell out.

While the cause of the altercation and what escalated it isn't clear, Aponte-Flores soon was the target of 10 gunshots, Buckingham said.

She said three of the bullets struck Aponte-Flores: one near his collarbone, another in his left biceps and the third in his head, where it remain lodged until his death later that day at Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital.

Witnesses, at least one of whom attempted CPR, said Apontes-Flores managed to move several feet before collapsing.

More: UPDATE: Arrest warrant issued following fatal shooting in Plymouth

Macedo accused of shooting; warrant issued

Police quickly identified Macedo as the suspect in the shooting and issued a warrant for his arrest the next day.

Police said Macedo was captured Saturday, Aug. 5. State and New Bedford police had tracked him to a second-floor apartment on Morgan Street in New Bedford.

The arrest team forced their way into the apartment after no one inside complied with repeated orders to come out, police said.

They said they saw a large pile of clothes on the floor of a bedroom closet and found Macedo lying face down with his hands under his stomach under the pile. He refused to show his hands and was forcibly taken from the closet.

Macedo has other warrants; probation rescinded from past case

Macedo appeared calm as he was brought into the courtroom in handcuffs Monday.

Buckingham and public defender John Geary agreed that he should be held without bail. Geary asked that the request to hold Macedo without bail be imposed without prejudice, saying he had just received the case and did not have enough information to make an argument for bail.

The judge approved the request, which leaves the door open to a future bail request from Geary as the case progresses.

Macedo has two unspecified default warrants out of New Bedford District Court, both of which seemed to have stemmed from missed court dates.

Buckingham sought and was granted a trial on a burglary-related charge out of Plymouth District Court from last July for which Macedo had been on probation. More details on that case were not available Monday.

Tension spills outside Plymouth District Court

A brief recess was held during the morning session just before Macedo's arraignment.

As people filed back in, Macedo's supporters and Aponte-Flores' friends and family were kept on separate sides on the aisle by court guards, three of whom who stood between the two sides throughout the arraignment.

Judge John A. Canavan III told both sides to refrain from any outbursts or disruptions during the arraignment.

"I do understand this a very emotional situation," he said.

Those emotions carried over to the courthouse parking lot.

After both groups left the court, a brief verbal altercation flared as Macedo's supporters walked toward the back of the parking lot while Aponte-Flores' family remined behind.

Aponte-Flores was one of five siblings, which includes two other brothers and two sisters, according to his obituary.

One of those sisters, Chaisek Flores, wore a shirt bearing the words "Justice for Tito," which she said was her brother's nickname.

"He hated being called Robert," she said after the arraignment.

While mourning her brother, she also expressed anger that the shooting took place in front of Aponte-Flores' son and other young nieces and nephews who were part of the picnic group that day.

"They're all just traumatized," she said. "Any of those bullets could have hit them."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Suspect in shooting at state park in Plymouth is arraigned, held