Crime & Safety

Trial Date Set for Newton Teen Charged with Murder

Benjamin Peirce is facing murder charges for allegedly helping kill Adam Coveney, of Waltham.

Jury selection for the murder trial of Newton resident Benjamin Peirce will begin on Jan. 14, according the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office.

The trial had originally been scheduled for September of this year. . 

Also, a Middlesex Superior Court Judge, during an Oct. 26 hearing, said she would take a previous a motion from Peirce's attorney under advisement. The motion is intended to avoid an automatic sentence of life in jail without the possibility of parole. The motion could eventually go to a state appeals court or the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

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Peirce, 19, is facing murder charges for allegedly helping kill Adam Coveney, of Waltham, during an alleged robbery in September 2010. Fellow Newton resident and Newton North graduate Shaquan Jacobs as well as Daniel Louis have already been sentenced in the case. 

Officials allege that Peirce and Jacobs met up with Louis on Sept. 30, 2010 and 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.

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According to the Middlesex District Attorney, at approximately 11:05 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2010, Waltham Police received a report of possible shots fired at 879 Lexington St. Officers arrived and discovered Coveney suffering from a gunshot wound. Coveney was pronounced dead at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Prosecutors allege that Peirce, Jacobs and Louis left in a car driven by Newton resident Wallace Duarte, who was charged with being an accessory after the fact.


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