Four charged with murdering Dorchester man in Expressway hotel robbery

A Dorchester man's life ended at a gathering in a Boston Street hotel room in October when four men burst in and began robbing the people there of jewelry, cash and guns, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office says.

A Suffolk County grand jury yesterday indicted James "Shizz" Coleman, 26, John "Spice" Collins, 24, Errin "Dubdub" Crawford, 29, and Michael "Bats" Reynolds, 24, on charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery and armed home invasion for the incident at the Holiday Inn Express, 69 Boston St., that left Joshua Briggs, 22, dead of a gunshot wound to the head early on the morning of Oct. 17.

Reynolds is from Roxbury, the other three are from Dorchester.

According to the DA's office:

Evidence suggests that Briggs and others were inside a room at the hotel on the night of Oct. 16 into the early morning hours of Oct. 17, and that Coleman, Collins, and Crawford were also present but were ejected by hotel staff after a fight. The evidence suggests that they returned with Reynolds and forced their way into the room at about 4:15 am; that at least two of the defendants were armed with a firearm; and that this fact was known to all of the defendants. The evidence further suggests that all four men took part in the robbery of cash, jewelry, and firearms that they knew to be in the hotel room. Briggs suffered a fatal gunshot wound during the incident and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The totality of facts and evidence suggest that –-armed or unarmed - the defendants acted with a specific intent to cause death or serious injury or took part in an action that carried a clear risk of death or serious injury.

DA Dan Conley adds:

The indictments allege that the defendants knew there were guns in that room, and they returned with more guns of their own. It was a powder keg, and we submit that their actions ignited it, leading to Joshua Briggs’ death.

Coleman was arraigned on Oct. 23 in South Boston Municipal Court on armed-robbery and armed-home-invasion charges for the incident; the others were arraigned on similar charges in November or this month. All had been held in lieu of bail ranging from $200,000 to $500,000.

Innocent, etc.