WORCESTER — One of three men charged in the November fatal shooting of two people at a Brookside Avenue apartment complex was arraigned in Central District Court Tuesday.
The three were allegedly involved in the shooting deaths of a man and a woman at the Tatnuck Square Apartments, off Mill Street, the evening of Nov. 21.
Sheldon D. Thorpe, 22, of Fall River, is charged with two counts of murder. Tuesday, Judge Timothy M. Bibaud entered a not guilty plea on the defendant’s behalf.
Thorpe is also charged with two counts of armed assault to rob, firearm, possession of firearms in a felony, carrying a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition without a FID card, for which he was arraigned Monday.
He is being held without bail.
Thorpe, who listened to the charges against him Tuesday behind an open door, is due back in court for a probable cause hearing May 22.
Thorpe’s alleged accomplices — Shaquille Watford, 31, of Brockton, and Jeffrey S. Toney, 29, of Attleboro — were arraigned Friday on the same five non-murder charges.
Watford and Toney are back in court Thursday to be arraigned on the two murder charges.
Thorpe was apprehended Monday and Watford was taken into custody Thursday. Toney was already in custody on unrelated charges.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21, police were dispatched for a report of gunshots, according to Sgt. Shane M. Marcotte’s report.
Police entered the apartment and located a man and woman suffering from gunshot wounds. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the man was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
Autopsies determined that one victim had four gunshot wounds and the other had had eight, according to Marcotte’s report.
Marcotte noted in his report that five spent shell casings located inside the apartment could only have been discharged from an assault rifle.
Detectives learned that Thorpe and his accomplices left Stoughton in a rented 2023 Toyota RAV-4 with a New Jersey registration.
Upon arriving in Worcester, they entered one victim’s apartment with an assault rifle, according to Marcotte’s report.
Seven shots were discharged, striking both victims several times, Marcotte’s report states.
The suspects left the apartment with large bags. U.S. currency and packages containing a green leafy substance, believed to be marijuana, were strewn about the floor, according to Marcotte’s report.
Investigators were able to track the suspects’ movement through surveillance footage, GPS information related to the vehicle and witness testimony, according to court documents.
Text messages and social media posts between one of the victims and Watford and Toney showed they knew each other.
The investigation involved police from Worcester, Weymouth, Fall River and Boston, as well as the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the state police.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Sheldon Thorpe one of 3 charged in Worcester double murder
