Encore Boston Harbor Garage Gunfire Inquiry by Massachusetts Police Continues

Posted on: December 2, 2021, 11:58h. 

Last updated on: December 2, 2021, 12:58h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Today, Massachusetts State Police (MSP) started investigating bullets fired in the Encore Boston Harbor parking garage Wednesday night. No one was injured in the Everett, Mass. incident and no arrests were made.

Encore Boston Harbor
Encore Boston Harbor exterior, pictured above. Shots were fired in the casino’s parking garage. (Image: Boston.com)

Cops seized evidence from the garage. They did not detail what they recovered, according to WHDH, a local TV station.

Shortly before midnight, the State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit and MSP patrols from Troops A and H responded to a report of shots fired in the casino’s garage area,” David Procopio, a State Police spokesman, told the Boston Globe.

Police found evidence in the garage, according to Procopio, but said that they did not believe there were any victims at the time. No arrests were made, but police are continuing to investigate.

Crimes Follow Casino Opening

Since opening in June 2019, the casino has been the scene of numerous crimes. Between June and November of that year, over 160 people reportedly were arrested or given a summons at the Encore Boston Harbor, WCVB TV News reported in November. However, without much data on average casino arrests, it can be hard to contextualize this rate.

Disorderly conduct, assault and battery, larceny, and cheating were among the most common charges at the Encore. Arguments, fights, and motor vehicle accidents are among the most frequent types of incidents that led to a police response, the TV station added.

Among the notable incidents was one that involved multiple fights and rowdiness. Several people were arrested.

Prior Incidents at Encore

In January 2020, four Massachusetts residents were indicted in connection with a violent assault October 2020 at the Encore Boston Harbor. One was a casino employee.

The victim was allegedly kicked and stomped in the head and torso by two of the suspects while the indicted trio was in an elevator of the gaming property.

Matthew Haley, 27, of Cambridge, and Jose Mercado, 32, of Boston were indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury on a count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. Haley was also indicted on assault and battery.

An Encore employee, Brittany Dawson, 24, of Stoneham, was also indicted, as was Leilani Reyes, 20, of Somerville on a count of impeding a gaming investigation. Dawson was also indicted on acting as an accessory after the fact.

Haley allegedly punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall to the floor of the elevator, according to a statement from Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. Haley then allegedly repeatedly kicked and stomped on the man’s head and body, with Mercado allegedly assaulting the victim, too. Reyes allegedly watched.

The employee, Dawson, allegedly held a door to the garage open for the men to escape from the elevator bay, and then drove them away from the casino, Healey added.