Nyamekye gets 12-15 years

WORCESTER— The most startling part of the case, as a judge put it, was a victim’s testimony of how Tex K. Nyamekye Jr. (whose family came from Ghana) saw her driving in her car, reached for a gun and shot at her five times.

There was no provocation, the judge said, no immediate threat to Mr. Nyamekye. He was still on probation, for a previous shooting, and should have been mindful of such violence. Yet, the judge said, he took no notice of his actions, the woman or public safety.

“That shows a total disregard for law and human life,” Superior Court Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. said, “and it shows a commitment to a life of crime, and a life of violence.”

With that, Mr. Nyamekye, 27, of 51 Maywood St., a reputed gang leader, was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison on charges he shot at the woman last year on Falmouth Street, and that he did so after already being convicted on other weapons, drugs and violent crime charges.

“That suggests not only a pattern of misconduct, it suggests a lifetime commitment to violent crime,” the judge said, “violent crime in which members of the public are in danger of being killed.”

The sentencing was a victory for police and community members who have called Mr. Nyamekye a major player in Worcester’s underworld of drugs, guns and violence.

Last year, community members held a rally outside his Maywood Street home while he was still in the hospital suffering from gunshot wounds from a drive-by shooting, saying he was the one who brought such violence to the neighborhood.

And yesterday, City Councilor Barbara G. Haller and William T. Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, attended Mr. Nyamekye’s court hearing, taking solace from seeing the one-time Vice Lords member sentenced to more than a decade in jail.

“We’re dealing with putting a career criminal away from harming public safety in the community,” Ms. Haller said. “It involves the community, the police and the courts, and I believe justice was served today.”

Mr. Breault said he hoped Clara Diaz, whose son Nicholas was killed, is following the case, to know that justice was served. In 2000, Mr. Nyamekye was charged in connection with killing the popular college student from Main South who had been home on Thanksgiving break when he was gunned down.

Two co-defendants pleaded guilty in the case, with the confessed shooter, Michael L. Edmunds, sentenced to 14 to 15 years in jail. But the charge against Mr. Nyamekye was dropped after prosecutors said they didn’t have enough evidence. Mr. Nyamekye had allegedly been in the car when the shooting occurred.

Mr. Nyamekye’s family came from Ghana, and in his youth he was a star boxer, winning the New England Junior Olympic title as a 75-pound 10-year-old. He was an honor roll student at South High Community School. But those years were also filled with arrests as a juvenile, for vandalism and trespassing, according to court records.

Not long after Mr. Nyamekye became an adult in the law’s eyes, he faced more serious charges. When he was 17, he was sentenced to 24 days in jail for possessing cocaine. In 1998, he was sentenced to 3-1/2 years to 5 years in state prison for assault with a dangerous weapon (gun). A year later, he was sentenced to two years in jail on a separate conviction of possessing a shotgun.

Two years later, Mr. Nyamekye was in jail on other charges when he was slashed by a fellow inmate. He refused to bring charges, but Jose Feliciano, 26, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He pleaded guilty and, facing another charge at the time, was sentenced to two years in jail.

At the time of his sentencing, Mr. Feliciano was asked by a judge why he would commit the crime in jail. He responded, “I felt like my life was in danger.”

In 2004, Mr. Nyamekye was still on probation for the 1998 conviction when he was arrested in relation to a home invasion on Chino Avenue. Police were told several men, one of whom pointed a gun at a woman inside, tried to enter the home. Witnesses gave police a description of the getaway car, and soon after a car matching that description was stopped. Police found two guns inside, and six people, including Mr. Nyamekye, were arrested. He was released on $10,000 cash bail, but the charges were later dropped after a judge determined there was no probable cause to search the vehicle.

Months later, he was arrested again after police found him inside a car that matched the description of a getaway car in a drive-by shooting at the Lakeside Avenue housing complex. Police also found a gun in that car. He was initially held on $50,000 bail, but later had that bail reduced and was held on home confinement. The case was dropped after a judged ruled there was no probable cause to stop and search the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nyamekye was still on probation for the 1998 conviction, and was still under law enforcement scrutiny when he was shot last year outside his home.

Henry F. Owens III, Mr. Nyamekye’s lawyer, said yesterday that his client had tried to reclaim a civil life after his initial jail terms, and proposed moving to New York to escape his violent surroundings in Worcester. He feared for his life, Mr. Owens said. But New York probation officials rejected his transfer to that state because of his criminal record, Chief Probation Officer Thomas A. Turco III said during the hearing.

Mr. Owens had called for a sentence of 5 to 7 years on all charges, saying that Mr. Nyamekye was still a young man who wants, and tried, to leave the area to escape his violent past. He opposed the sentence of 12 to 15 years recommended by prosecutors, saying it was too severe.

“I feel the commonwealth is retaliating against my client,” Mr. Owens said, “but that should not play a part in our criminal justice system.”

He said Mr. Nyamekye has two children he supported before his arrest, and noted Mr. Nyamekye’s mother, sister, fiancée and a family member attended the court hearing as support. He also said media publicity brought too much attention to the case, painting a dark reputation of Mr. Nyamekye.

“I’m not trying to minimize what happened,” he said, but “he has an opportunity for rehabilitation and changing things around.”

But Judge Agnes said Mr. Nyamekye’s own police record painted a picture of the man beyond his reputation, of a man with a history of guns and violence.

“I would find it difficult to look at (his) record … as that other than a career criminal,” Judge Agnes said.