Medford Man Accused of Cambridge Homicide

– Marc Levy, CambridgeDay.com

A suspect in an Aug. 12 shooting death in which the victim fled to Kendall Square was scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning in Cambridge District Court.

Rooslin Altidor, 26, of Medford, was arrested on Friday in that town and brought to the Cambridge Police Department, where he has been held since, said Jeremy Warnick, director of communications and media relations for Cambridge police.

Altidor is being charged with murder, but the arraignment was delayed. First announced for the morning at 7 a.m., more than two hours later a delay was announced by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, with the arraignment expected to begin before 10:15 a.m.

When the arraignment took place, Judge J. Michele Hogan ordered Altidor held without bail and scheduled the next court hearing in the case for 9 a.m. Sept. 18.

The charge is in connection with the death of 31-year-old Rasaun Nichols, Warnick said. Nichols was reportedly shot five to eight times, including in the head, in a vehicle that was leaving Newtowne Court in the Area IV neighborhood. After the 8:41 p.m. shooting he was driven away from near 119 Windsor St. by an unharmed woman, but they made it only a few blocks down Main Street, stopping between a hotel and T stop entrance.

This incident is an open and active investigation being conducted by the Cambridge Police Department and state police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, said District Attorney Marian Ryan and Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas.

“We are very grateful to members of the community who offered information following this murder,” Ryan said. “Good results can occur when people come forward with information they believe may be relevant. Each bit of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem to someone, can help lead detectives on the path to solving a crime. Law enforcement and members of the victim’s family appreciate the kind of cooperation which we have seen in this investigation.”

Haas also had a statement:

“I am very proud of the tireless work and commitment our detectives and investigators from the District Attorney’s Office made to this case. Since this senseless tragedy took place, we received tremendous cooperation from the community and aggressively pursued piecing together all of the vital information to bring the person responsible for this tragic event to justice.”

John Hawkinson contributed to this report.