DA: 'General melee' preceded shooting outside Salem restaurant

Jul. 1—SALEM — Prosecutors say it was David "Banga" Avalo who shot Delroy Lindsay in the back at "close to point blank range" as he chased Lindsay down a downtown Salem alley on Valentine's Day.

Avalo's attorney says it wasn't his client, calling identifications by witnesses weak.

New details of the Feb. 14 shooting outside Brothers Taverna on Derby Street emerged during a detention hearing Thursday in Salem Superior Court. Avalo, 25, faces charges that include armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm without a license.

At the time of the shooting, Avalo was on probation for a 2018 drug case in which he was also charged with assault and battery on a police officer — a factor that Salem Superior Court Judge Kathleen McCarthy Neyman cited Thursday in her decision to keep Avalo in custody.

She said that "indicates he is either unwilling or unable to abide by any conditions imposed by the court."

Prosecutor A.J. Camelio said the restaurant was crowded with people celebrating Valentine's Day on the evening of the shooting. People were drinking. And at a certain point, words were exchanged, said the prosecutor. "What are you looking at?" someone said, according to the prosecutor.

That touched off an argument and then punches being thrown. Quickly, Camelio said, things turned into a "general melee." People were rushing out. Among them were the victim and his friend.

Camelio said they were being chased by a man wearing a mask and a distinctive jacket, video surveillance shows.

They reached the end of the alley, which opens onto a parking area, with Avalo close behind, the prosecutor said. That's when Lindsay was shot from behind and fell forward, nearly being hit by a car whose driver was trying to leave. The driver of that car, Camelio said, "essentially had a front row seat" and was able to provide a description of the shooter.

The prosecutor said Lindsay's friend was still running as Avalo continued firing, shooting over parked cars, in an attempt to hit the other man.

"This defendant continued to shoot wildly in a parking lot that was crowded with people," said Camelio.

Lindsay, 26, was hit in the spine and paralyzed, said the prosecutor.

Avalo's attorney, Scott Gleason, said there's no evidence his client was the shooter other than surveillance video, where his face cannot be made out.

"It's impossible," Gleason said.

Neyman asked about the distinctive jacket.

Gleason suggested that the descriptions by witnesses varied, with one calling it "royal blue," another "navy blue," and a third "shiny blue."

"He's being held because there's a blue jacket, in the middle of January," Gleason told the judge. "There were probably 300 people in this facility and this is the only one of them that had this kind of jacket?"

But what about the identification by police, the judge asked.

Gleason suggested that the officer had a "significant history" of involvement with Avalo previously.

He also said that in part of the police report, it is noted that Avalo had tried to get into the restaurant at around 8:30 p.m. but was turned away due to overcrowding.

"So how is it that he's running out during the shooting?" Gleason asked.

But Camelio said police have found cellphone videos taken inside the restaurant, showing Avalo had gotten in at some point that evening.

Gleason had asked the judge to let his client out to live with his mother in Boston while awaiting trial.

Avalo also faces a hearing where officials are seeking to revoke his probation in the 2018 case. Avalo served about half of a state prison sentence before he was released, under a provision of the state's criminal justice reform law that allows for credit for good behavior.

A hearing on that is scheduled for Aug. 5.

The shooting, which was the second in what would turn into a series of violent incidents, led to a City Council hearing on what the police department was doing in response.

But police have repeatedly stressed that the shootings and other incidents were not random acts of violence.

Lindsay's family raised nearly $20,000 in a GoFundMe campaign that has since ended. His mother could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday on how Lindsay is doing.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.