Man convicted for murder at a Roxbury playground in 2021

A Suffolk Superior Court jury yesterday convicted a New Hampshire man with Dorchester roots on a first-degree murder charge for shooting a man enjoying Father's Day with his family in a Roxbury park in 2021, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The verdict means a mandatory sentence of life without parole for Ira Grayson, 37, of Manchester, NH, although after a review by the Supreme Judicial Court.

His victim, Stacy Coleman, was at a playground on Danube Street with his family the evening of June 20, when he got into an argument with Grayson, whom he did not know, police say. According to the DA's office, Grayson, who already had a long record - and who was out on parole on a federal gun charge:

Left the park and returned a short time later firing rounds from the street directly into the park. Boston Police Department responded to the ShotSpotter activation on Danube Street and discovered Coleman suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Grayson himself wound up getting shot in the incident, but was able to get himself to a local hospital.

At the time of the murder, Grayson was awaiting a hearing in federal court in Manchester, NH on whether he should be returned to federal prison for violating his parole by shoving a woman with whom he had a relationship in the face.