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Man held without bail in fatal Dorchester shooting

It was a warm summer night, perfect for hanging outside with friends. That’s all Ailton Goncalves, 35, was doing last weekend when he was shot in the head on Dudley Terrace in Uphams Corner, the authorities say. The shot was fatal.

Merly Miranda, a 31-year-old visiting a friend, was grabbing a pack of cigarettes from her car when she was shot twice in the back, leaving her paralyzed.

On Monday, the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Aaron A. Almeida of Hyde Park was ordered held without bail on a murder charge after the Aug. 20 shootings.

Surveillance cameras captured Almeida walking alone onto Dudley Terrace, where Goncalves was standing with a group of friends, Assistant District Attorney Amy Galatis said at Almeida’s arraignment in Roxbury District Court.

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“Ailton Goncalves was at the bottom or the end of Dudley Terrace,” Galatis said. “He was with a number of friends and associates doing nothing but hanging out and drinking.”

Shortly after midnight, Almeida allegedly opened fire on the group, striking Goncalves in the head and Miranda in the back.

“It appears Mr. Almeida walked halfway or two-thirds down Dudley Terrace and began firing,” Galatis said.

The shooting, described in court records as a “gang committed offense,” was not captured on video, prosecutors said.

Miranda did not know either Almeida or Goncalves, Galatis said. She is expected to undergo additional surgeries at Boston Medical Center.

“She is going to be in the hospital for the foreseeable future,” Galatis said. “She has paralysis of her legs. It’s undetermined whether or not it will be permanent, but she faces a number or series of treatments at the hospital.“

Almeida’s lawyer, Michael Roitman, said he was unaware of any connection between Almeida and the two victims and questioned whether the video shows Almeida.

“Somebody or somebodies unknown said it’s Mr. Almeida . . . I don’t know that to be true at all,” Roitman said. “Video can be really grainy and really hard to identify. Sometimes you’re looking at somebody and all you can tell is the shape or a piece of clothing, and that’s not much of an identification.”

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A relative of Almeida, who did not give his name, said he is innocent.

Almeida was arrested Saturday near Morrissey Boulevard and Neponset Avenue in Dorchester. On Sunday, investigators searched two residences frequented by Almeida and found two guns and clothing that matched what the shooter wore, Galatis said. It was unclear if the firearms were used in the shooting.

During his arraignment, Almeida hid from public view while Goncalves’s family craned their necks to see him.

“He didn’t deserve this,” said a relative of Goncalves, who declined to give her name.

Prosecutors said Almeida has a lengthy criminal record and was on probation after being sentenced to two years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. His adult record also includes a 2015 drug conviction.

Almeida’s probation was scheduled to end in June 2019, according to Probation Department spokeswoman Coria Holland. While on probation, he was required to get a job or attend school and was on curfew. His sentence did not include GPS monitoring, Holland said.

In 2013, Sylvia Padilla, whose daughter has a child with Almeida, sought a restraining order against him after he showed up at her home with a gun, court records show. Padilla wrote to the court that she had an ongoing issue with Almeida and that he was “disrespectful” and made her fear for her life. “I don’t know what he is capable of,” she said.

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Neither party showed up in court and no restraining order was issued.

In 2011, Almeida and several other young men were arrested and charged with underage possession of liquor. Police described the men as individuals who belonged “to a gang which has terrorized the community and have not been afraid to exchange gunfire with police.”

Almeida is due back in court Oct. 5.


Jan Ransom can be reached at jan.ransom@globe.com.