LIFE, NO PAROLE, FOR CHARLESTOWN KILLER April 4, 2008 A former Allston resident and a one-time member of the U.S. Coast Guard was found guilty today of chasing 20-year-old Mark Parrilla after a brawl and gunning him down on Monument Street 16 months ago, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced. After two weeks of trial testimony, a Superior Court jury deliberated for almost four full days before convicting CARLOS MALDONADO (D.O.B. 2/23/82) of first-degree murder and unlawfully carrying a firearm. Judge Thomas E. Connolly sentenced Maldonado to the mandatory term for that crime, life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as a concurrent four- to five-year term on the gun charge. Prior to sentencing, the victim’s mother, Rose Parrilla, offered through tears a haunting victim impact statement in which she thanked each of the courtroom figures for their work throughout the trial – Judge Connolly; Assistant District Attorney David Fredette, whom she called “my Perry Mason”; Clerk Frank Barbour and the court stenographer; the three victim-witness advocates who worked with her family since her son’s Dec. 26, 2006, death; and even Maldonado’s attorney, Robert Sheketoff. “You have all been so wonderful to us,” she said. “Mr. Sheketoff, I know you had a difficult job, but I know you acknowledged my pain – you have also done a wonderful job.” To her son’s killer, she said, “Carlos, I don’t hate you. I hope that God has mercy on your soul. I hope you reflect on what you’ve done. I feel sorry for your family, but they brought you your outfits each day for court – the last outfit I put on [Mark] was to bury him. They can see you, feel you, touch you, but my son is gone.” Evidence introduced at trial proved that the victim and defendant crossed paths in the aftermath of a large fight among several teens behind 122 Walford Way in Charlestown. Witnesses testified that Maldonado – whom they identified by name and by a distinctive tattoo reading “Braveheart” – chased Parrilla from the scene to Monument Street. Parrilla suffered gunshot wounds to the arm, chest, and head before collapsing outside 77 Monument Street. Maldonado fled in a blue pick-up truck; Parrilla was pronounced dead of his injuries shortly after 5:00 p.m. “Ms. Parrilla suffered the most devastating loss any parent can take and yet showed such strength and dignity in court,” Conley said. “We can only hope that this verdict provides her and her family some comfort in the years to come.” Return to the Press Releases page.