Third Man Arrested in Connection with Fatal July 4 Shooting

A third suspect was charged in connection with the Cambridge July 4 fatal shooting on Tuesday, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.

Ryan wrote that 23-year-old Moises E. Pimentel is the third suspect to be charged in the shooting, which killed 32-year-old Xavier Bautista, a Cambridge Public Works department employee. Pimentel was charged with first-degree murder, carrying a firearm without a license, withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding, and conspiracy to commit murder.

Pimentel pleaded not guilty to all charges, and a judge ordered him to be held without bail as he awaits a probable cause hearing on Oct. 22.

Prosecutors allege that Pimentel was one of three men involved in Bautista’s killing. According to prosecutors, Pimentel and 22-year-old Giovani J. Arroyo, who was charged last week, approached Bautista in the early morning hours of July 4 and fatally shot him. Prosecutors have not publicly identified which man allegedly fired the shots.

A third man, 29-year-old Rayquon R. Brown, is believed to have acted as a lookout and potential backup for the two, according to Ryan. The three then allegedly left the scene together in a white pickup truck.

After leaving the scene, two of the defendants allegedly discarded multiple items into dumpsters in an effort to destroy evidence of the killing, according to prosecutors.

All three men have been arrested and face similar charges — including murder — all of which they have pleaded not guilty to. Brown was arrested less than 10 days after the shooting, and arrest warrants were issued for Pimentel and Arroyo on Thursday.

Arroyo was arrested and arraigned the day the warrants were issued, while Pimentel’s arraignment was held nearly a week later.

Pimentel and Arroyo allegedly approached and confronted Bautista near the intersection of Broadway and Norfolk Street shortly before 4:30 a.m. on July 4. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Bautista died from two gunshot wounds.

Bautista was found by pedestrians, lying in a pool of blood, nearly an hour later. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

There is no known connection between the three defendants and Bautista, according to prosecutors. The motive for the killing remains under investigation.

Bautista’s death sparked a wave of backlash against city leaders, as residents called for more investment in public safety measures — emphasizing prevention of violent crimes in the city. Officials, including City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 and acting Police Commissioner Pauline E. Wells, held a meeting with residents days after the shooting, where they faced criticism for the city’s violence prevention measures and scrutiny over the City Council’s May vote to terminate the use of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system.

Wells said that one of the system’s microphones was placed near the location of the shooting and could have brought responders to the scene sooner.

Amid the backlash over the decision to end ShotSpotter’s use, the City Council reversed course in a month after the shooting and brought the technology back online for 90 days, while the city assembles a group of residents to meet and discuss the devices with experts and make recommendations to the City Council on surveillance technology.

The city invited 15,000 households earlier this month to solicit participation in the resident assembly.

The three defendants are each due back in court within the next month. Brown is set to appear for his third hearing by the end of September, and Arroyo and Pimentel will return for probable cause hearings in October.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at ClaireMichal.154.