Prosecutor: JP Man Fired Handgun While Running From Police

A 19-year-old Jamaica Plain man is being held on $100,000 bond after prosecutors say he popped off a pistol shot while police were in close pursuit, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Tyre Wade, 19, was approached by police on Wednesday around 11:15 a.m. in the area of Academy Homes, a public housing complex across from the Jackson Square T. Police reported he was touching his waistband and they suspected he was armed.

Wade allegedly told police he needed to go see his aunt and, when police told him it would just take a moment, he allegedly ran away. Police chased him to Slayton Way where they say he reached into his waistband, drew a gun and fired it. An officer was five feet away at that moment, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Wade tossed the gun, a .22 calibre Ruger MK II, into a parking lot and kept running. Police caught him further down Slayton Way.

Police say they did not return fire. On Thursday, Wade was arraigned in Roxbury District Court on nine charges, including the following:

• unlawful possession of a handgun
• unlawful possession of ammunition
• unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm
• assault with a dangerous weapon
• unlawfully discharging a firearm

Because of a previous conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, prosecutors charged Wade as a Level I armed career criminal. That designation could add between three and 15 years to any future conviction, according to the Mass General Laws.

At the request of prosecutors, Judge Pamela Dashiell approved creating an "exclusion zone" which Wade must stay away from. It is bordered by Columbus, Washington, Marcella and Highland.