Man held on bail after weekend shooting in Somerset

Somerset Police arrested a man over the weekend after a reported shooting in the town.

According to police, on Sunday, at approximately 6:40 p.m., the Somerset Police Department received a call from a resident on O’Neil Road who reported a male at the home was acting irrationally and was causing a serious disturbance. As officers were responding, a second call was received from a neighbor who reported hearing a shot fired.

The entire patrol shift arrived on scene and was attempting to surround the home and make contact with someone inside when a male suddenly exited the side door and walking across the property. Detective James Cardella ordered the male to stop and keep his hands visible. The male, identified as Marlik Anthony Cobe Booker, swore at the officers and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets while refusing to stop. When he did this, Detective Cardella, along with Officers Amber Massa and William Goodale, took the male to the ground. Officers controlled then removed Booker’s hands form his pockets and eventually handcuffed him. Upon pat frisking Booker, Detective Cardella located a loaded high capacity magazine in one of Booker’s pockets. Booker was arrested after it was determined he did not possess a gun license in Massachusetts.

Once Booker was secured, officers entered the home to check for possible victims due to the fact that someone reported hearing a shot fired. Two people were inside the home and were uninjured. A bullet hole was found in a wall in a second floor bedroom. Once it was determined no one else was inside the home, Lieutenant Adam DaRosa had the officers secure the home so that detectives could obtain a search warrant needed to search for evidence including a possible firearm.

Detective Lieutenant Jason Matos and Detective Donald Cormier responded along with Rehoboth Police K9 Officer David Aguiar and his partner K9 Edo. A search warrant was issued by the Court and officers and detectives began searching the home. Additional 9mm handgun ammunition and magazines were located, and a fired/empty shell casing was found in the same bedroom where the bullet hole was found in the wall. A firearm, secured in a locked container, was located and seized but was later determined to belong to another person and was not fired that day. The 9mm handgun was not located after a thorough search of the home by officers and the specially trained gun recovery K9. It was later learned a female had fled the home before police arrived. Officers were able to interview her later in the evening but obtained no further information as she was not cooperative and did not offer any additional information.

The police report stated that Booker does not have a license to carry a firearm or an FID card.

Booker was arrested and was charged with Possession of Ammunition Without an FID Card, (10 rounds), Possession of a large capacity feeding device (3 counts), and Discharging a Firearm Within 500 Feet of a Building.

At Monday’s arraignment, Booker pled not guilty and is being held on $1,000 cash bail. He has a pretrial hearing on July 1st.