A pair of police officers are set to go to trial in January on charges connected with the operation of an illegal nightclub out of a Jamaica Plain basement, court records show.
Boston police officer Richard McDermott and Health Commission Campus police officer Luigi D’Addieco were indicted last fall, several years after police learned of the club’s existence in July 2021.
McDermott is charged with witness intimidation, maintaining a gambling nuisance and seeking a criminal record check under false pretenses. D’Addieco is charged with withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding and maintaining a gambling nuisance.
The pair initially rented space at 360B Centre St. in Jamaica Plain to run an HVAC company. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, prosecutors say the pair turned the space’s basement into a bustling nightclub — complete with bouncers, a DJ and bottle service.
On July 10, 2021, prosecutors say a 37-year-old man took aim at the club’s bouncer, firing several shots, wounding the bouncer and hitting the retail space’s glass door.
The man, Evan Velez, is set to go to trial in November on charges including armed assault with intent to murder.
When officers arrived to the Centre Street address in 2021, they had a tactical team force its way inside, not knowing if there was a gunman or people hurt in the building.
Among the last people to exit the space was McDermott, who fellow Boston police officers recognized as one of their own. He told the officers he was there for his brother-in-law’s party and “had no idea what was going on,” prosecutors wrote in a summary of the charges filed in court.
“Contrary to that misleading statement, video surveillance captured McDermott looking out of the front door of the club, having had to step over the blood and broken glass before Boston Police responded,” prosecutors said.
In later interviews with detectives, both McDermott and D’Addieco were misleading about their involvement with the club, prosecutors added.
D’Addieco arrived at the club after the shooting and parked across the street from the entrance. He and McDermott spoke by phone multiple times that night, prosecutors said.
Both men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail. A hearing in the case is scheduled for later this month.
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