Keniel Diaz-Romero, a suspect in the February 15, 2022, murder of 17-year-old Weymouth High School student Nathan Paul, has been arrested in Puerto Rico after evading authorities for over a year, according to the CBS News.
In a tragic turn of events, Paul, an aspiring college student and athlete, was fatally shot during a drug deal in Quincy, Massachusetts. Prosecutors allege that Paul met up with several teens, including Diaz-Romero and Jaivon Harris, to sell THC bars. When the suspects attempted to pay using counterfeit bills, the situation rapidly escalated, leading to Paul's death, as reported on WCVB.
Harris was arrested shortly after the incident and has pled not guilty to charges of murder, among other crimes. Diaz-Romero, however, managed to flee to Puerto Rico, avoiding arrest for his alleged role in the incident, including charges of murder, larceny from a person, possession of a counterfeit bill, uttering a counterfeit bill, conspiracy to commit larceny, and unlawfully carrying a firearm. Diaz-Romero is scheduled to be arraigned on September 26th, according to the Boston.com.
Details surrounding the events that led to Paul's senseless death paint a grim picture. A drug deal involving counterfeit currency spiraled into an erratic car chase, with shouts of "shoot him" heard from the suspects. Tragically, Diaz-Romero allegedly fired shots into Paul's SUV, fatally wounding the teen. Paul's death that night sent shockwaves through the Weymouth High School community and, ultimately, across the nation, as another instance of young lives lost to senseless violence.
In their efforts to bring Paul's killers to justice, law enforcement agencies, including the Massachusetts State Police, the US Marshals Service, and the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, worked diligently to locate and apprehend the suspects.
As Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement, "State Police assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney's office and Quincy Police have been working with the US Marshals Service and the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section of the Massachusetts State Police to first locate, then return this defendant to Massachusetts since this indictment issued sixteen months ago," as mentioned by CBS News.
