Charlestown Residents Arraigned on Gun Charges

Editor's note: An arrest does not indicate a conviction. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent until they are found guilty in a court of law.

Two Charlestown residents pleaded not guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and other charges Friday in Somerville District Court.

The pair was arrested Monday, Jan. 7 after they allegedly led police on a car chase through Somerville and Medford. Also arrested was a 15-year-old male Charlestown resident. He was also arraigned Friday in Cambridge Juvenile Court.

Avis Medrano, 23, and Alexis Gonzalez, 20, both of Charlestown, pleaded not guilty to charges of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possession of ammunition and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.

“Somerville District Court Judge Maurice Flynn released the defendants on personal recognizance with conditions that they stay away and have no contact with witnesses, stay one-quarter mile away from Gilman Street in Somerville and possess no dangerous weapons or firearms,” according to a press release from the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr.

Both men are due back in court on Feb. 20 for a pretrial hearing. The 15-year-old is due back in juvenile court on Feb. 27.

At around 9:05 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 7, Somerville Police responded to the report of shots fire on Gilman Street. Witnesses reported that a white Subaru had left the scene.

A patrol cruiser called in a vehicle matching the description that was driving away with no headlights on. As the cruiser pulled up behind the car, the driver sped off, according to police reports.

The Subaru led police down Broadway into Ball Square in Somerville, turning into Medford and going the wrong way down a one-way street before returning to Somerville, reports state. The driver stopped the vehicle near the Powder House Rotary in Somerville, and the suspects fled on foot into the surrounding neighborhood.

Police found the two men hiding in a garage and under a porch at a Walker Street, Somerville address. The youth was also located nearby, under a porch on Leonard Street. They were all arrested.