Man convicted for 2018 slaying in Dorchester Burger King parking lot

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today convicted Ralph Brown of first-degree murder for the shooting death of Shaquille Browder in the parking lot of the Burger King at Columbia Road and Washington Street on Jan. 11, 2018, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The verdict means Brown will get life in prison without the possibility of parole at his formal sentencing on Tuesday. A second man, Kyle Williams Gathers, had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaugher and assault and battery with by discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to 18 to 25 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Brown, in a U-Haul pickup and Williams Gathers, in a rented Tahoe, followed Browder in his Toyota Camry, with two passengers, to the Burger King parking lot. The DA's office says:

There, Browder backed his car into an empty space. Williams Gathers stopped his vehicle near the Washington Street entrance. Another, unidentified man exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots into the back of Browder's car. Browder and one of his passengers attempted to flee, only to find that they had run in the direction of the U-Haul truck. Brown and another unidentified man each fired multiple shots, and Browder collapsed near the vehicle. He had a fatal wound in his back and a nonfatal wound in his right arm. The surviving victim suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

The evidence showed that Williams Gathers then picked up the first shooter and fled the scene in the Tahoe. The UHaul truck fled in a different direction. Cell phone records proved that Brown and Williams Gathers remained in contact throughout their pursuit of the victim; their phone call ended abruptly after the shooting occurred. Just one hour after the shooting, Williams Gathers returned the rented Tahoe to a dealership in Norwood and traded it for a different vehicle.