Newton Man Charged with Being Accessory to a Murder Arrested for Violating GPS Monitoring
Wallace Duarte allegedly drove the car for murder suspects Benjamin Peirce and Shaquan Jacobs, who are also from Newton.
A Newton man who is charged as an accessory to the murder of a Waltham man was recently arrested for violating his electronic monitoring.
Newton Police arrested Wallace Duarte, 20, of 63 Hamlet St., on July 29.
According to reports, the Newton Police Department received a fax from the state on July 29 indicating Duarte's electronic monitoring bracelet had stopped transmitting from Hamlet Street as of 6:38 a.m. that morning.
Duarte is awaiting trial as an accessory after the fact in the murder of Adam Coveney, a 35-year-old Waltham man who was shot after being robbed.
According to Middlesex County District Attorney Spokesperson Stephanie Guyotte, Duarte was charged with a "minor" violation of his terms of release. Guyotte said the batteries in the GPS device were not properly charged.
Duarte is being held without bail and is due for a status hearing on August 27.
Two Newton teenagers, Benjamin Peirce and Shaquan Jacobs, are charged with the murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit armed robbery (two counts) and attempted armed robbery in connection with the Sept. 30, 2010 shooting death of Coveney. Peirce and Jacobs are charged along with Roxbury resident Daniel Louis.
On Sept. 30, 2012, the trio allegedly attempted to rob a Newton North student they knew well. When that failed, they met up with Coveney to purchase drugs and allegedly brought a gun along with masks, gloves and bleach.
Prosecutors allege that Perice, Jacobs and Louis left in a car driven by Duarte, who was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
Earlier this year, the defense filed a motion to suppress statements made by Jacobs and Peirce on the night of the alleged murder. According to the DA's office, Judge Kathe Tuttman ruled in favor of suppressing statements made by Jacobs after 12:45 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2010.
All other motions to suppress statements, including all of those made by Peirce, were denied, the DA's office said.
According to Guyotte, Peirce and Jacobs are due back in court on Thursday for a final pre-trial conference. Their trial is scheduled to start on September 5.
