Suspect in Circular Avenue Shooting Arraigned
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William Harrison is being held without bail for 120 days.
The prosecution alleges that Willie Harrison, 26, shot Yandel Osorio on Aug. 18 inside a multifamily building in broad daylight when there were a number of people in the general area.
Harrison appeared in Pittsfield District Court on Wednesday; he was taken into custody on Tuesday after arriving at court on another matter. He was charged with:
- Assault and battery by discharging a firearm
- Discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building
- Possession of a firearm without a FID card
- Possession of ammunition without a FID card
Given the circumstances and Harrison's prior criminal history, prosecutors argued that no less restrictive conditions would adequately ensure public safety and asked that he be held without bail for 120 days, which was granted by Judge Rebecca Michaels.
"The commonwealth would assert that there are no less restrictive means to assure not only the safety of the victim in this case, but also to assure the safety of the civilians, individuals inside the home, or any other individuals at this point, the investigation continues to be ongoing," said First Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey.
"Given the facts concerned in this case, the fact that the shootout occurred in broad daylight when there were individuals present, this could have been a much more significant circumstance."
At the arraignment, Harrison was represented by attorney William Barry, who asked that his client be released with GPS monitoring and no curfew.
Barry said Harrison was willing to report to probation daily and comply with any other conditions imposed by the court. He also argued that Harrison has strong support from his family.
During the arraignment, several attendees were seated in the back row, with one woman telling the media to "stop taking pictures." As one attendee left the courtroom, he called out to Harrison, "I love you."
Barry also pointed out that the alleged victim has not been cooperative with police and questioned the strength of the police evidence. He suggested that the report be carefully reviewed.
The day of the incident, officers were dispatched to the scene at 5:32 p.m. for a ShotSpotter activation. The nonfatal shooting is believed to have been in retaliation for an incident earlier that day, at approximately 4 p.m., when Osorio allegedly broke into a home in search of Harrison.
Police were dispatched to Melville Street, the home of Harrison and his girlfriend, for a report of harassment. Officers were informed that Osorio allegedly broke into the home and assaulted Williamson while she was alone with her and Harrison's infant.
"Osorio posted on his Snapchat at 4 p.m., talking about the incident [and then] posted a video of his address stating that 'I could drop the addy, they won't slide tonight or today. Pull up.'"
Following the incident, Harrison "went basically hunting for Mr. Osorio," Shelvey said.
Osorio was initially found at the scene before being transported to Berkshire Medical Center in a personal vehicle for treatment of a gunshot wound to the buttocks.
Osorio has also been charged for his involvement in what led up to the shooting and has not been cooperative with the police, Shelvey said.
When asked by officers about the incident, Harrison reported to the officers that he did what he had to do, she said, and when asked what that meant, Harrison did not elaborate further, but just made a shrugging motion towards the officers.
Separately and unrelated to the above arrest, last week the juvenile to have allegedly participated in the Aug. 16 shooting was brought into law enforcement custody. The juvenile has since been arraigned in Juvenile Court for eight charges and is being held in custody. The juvenile was arraigned on the following charges:
- Attempted murder
- Four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
- Discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building
- Possession of a firearm during a felony
- Possession of ammunition without an FID card
Tags: arraignment, firearms, shooting,
