No bail for man charged with gunning down Army veteran in the Theater District

Peter Castillo, 31, of Salem, was arraigned today on a charge of first-degree murder for the death of Stephen Perez, Jr. on April 28, 2012 in a Tremont Street parking lot, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

[Assistant District Attorney David] Fredette told the court that Perez, a U.S. Army veteran who served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was out with friends in Boston’s Theater District into the early hours of April 28, 2012, when he became involved in an altercation in a Tremont Street parking lot. Though Castillo was not involved in the initial altercation, he and others were summoned by phone from a parking garage. As members of the group confronted Perez, Castillo came from behind the victim and shot him in the back. Castillo and other members of the group then fled.

Castillo left Boston for the Dominican Republic not long after the shooting. On Jan. 15, Dominican police worked with the US Marshal's service and Boston Police to arrest him in Santo Domingo.

Innocent, etc.