Convicted crack dealer charged with Egleston Square murder

Boston Police report arresting Demone Coleman, 44, of Dorchester, on charges he gunned down Christopher Shivers, 43, on Columbus Avenue in Egleston Square late on Feb. 8.

Police say officers arrested Coleman last night at 134 Greenwood St. in Dorchester.

Court records show that's the address where he lived in 2017, when the Veterans Administration began looking into drug sales at a veterans housing development in Bedford and discovered Coleman was selling crack to a veteran there for resale to other veterans. Coleman was arrested on four counts of distribution of crack and one count of possession of crack with intent to distribute, the latter charge for the crack a Maine State Trooper found in his pants after a traffic stop in that state.

Coleman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

His arrest came 11 years after he pleaded guilty to another federal charge, of possession of five grams or more of crack, for which he was sentenced to 7 1/4 years in federal prison. His arrest in that case came when police spotted him at Greenwood and Erie streets driving his girlfriend's car - which she had just reported stolen - and he sped away. He eventually crashed the car, then, with police still in pursuit, tried to run away "and, when he finally realized he was cornered, jumped onto the ground in an effort to throw three eight balls of crack cocaine down an adjacent sewer," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum to the judge in the drug case.

Coleman was released in February, 2021 on completion of his sentence on the second conviction, federal prison records show.

Shivers left two children, his mother, two brothers and a sister:

Though he presented himself as a warrior to the world, he always saved his funny and caring true character for his family with his infamous smirk-like smile. Chris was known for flashy baseball caps and watches, enjoying a good cup of tea in the morning, and reaching out just to check in with a "you good" text.

He enjoyed sports and would occasionally participate in a pick-up game of basketball. He gave back to the community that raised him in his own way, by cheering on local youth at the community games or sharing a few dollars with some of the neighborhood children to get candy from the corner store.

Innocent, etc.