A Dorchester man who was involved in a gunfight that injured eight people at the 2023 J’Ouvert Caribbean parade, and who later fled to Georgia, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison following two trials, prosecutors said.
Gerald Vick Jr., 33, was convicted by a Suffolk County jury Wednesday on one charge of carrying a machine gun, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden’s office said in a statement.
Vick was convicted last month on charges of carrying a firearm without a license (second offense), carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and possession of a large capacity feeding device, the statement said.
A second jury convicted Vick on one count of possession of a machine gun on Wednesday.
He was charged as a habitual offender for being convicted of two prior violent crimes, the statement said.
The sentence of life in prison carries the possibility of parole in 15 years, the statement said.
Vick was originally due to stand trial in December 2024. On the night before his trial was to start, Vick removed his GPS monitoring bracelet.
He fled and was apprehended in Georgia six months later, the statement said.
According to the statement, two other men have been charged in the shooting.
Dwayne Francis, 31, of Dorchester, was arrested on several firearm-related charges. He is scheduled for trial on June 1.
Sebastian Monteiro, 22, of Boston, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to several firearm-related charges. He was sentenced to four years in state prison with one year of probation upon release.
On Aug. 26, 2023, police on patrol at the J’Ouvert Caribbean parade saw two groups congregating on opposite sides of Talbot Avenue, officials said.
Francis and Monteiro were part of one group, and Vick was part of the opposing group.
According to officials, Francis was yelling into his phone while staring at Vick’s group and grasping something inside his hoodie.
Shots rang out as officers approached, and eight people were shot. There were no fatalities, according to the statement.
Camille Bugayong can be reached at camille.bugayong@globe.com.