"Man nearing trial kills self, police say; Was also ‘person of interest’ in Cambridge case" by Laura Crimaldi, Globe Staff March 22, 2015
Nicholas Cammarata of Saugus was scheduled to go on trial next month on an assault to murder case in Middlesex Superior Court, and his defense attorney said he had a chance of being acquitted.
But Friday evening, police said the 30-year-old man took his own life in a Portsmouth, N.H., hotel room after being named a “person of interest” in the hunt for a suspect who had fired at a Cambridge police officer earlier in the day.
“I feel terrible. There’s a whole other side to him. He was a very personable guy and caring,” said Cammarata’s lawyer, Bernard Grossberg.
“I don’t know what happened with this alleged shooting with the police officer. We were preparing for trial . . . I thought he had a strong defense,” Grossberg said.
Police said the events leading up to Cammarata’s death inside an America’s Best Inn on Friday evening began about 12:20 that morning when a neighbor reported a break-in at an apartment building under construction in Cambridge.
Two officers found a suspect at the building site at the intersection of Fifth and Gore streets and pursued him, said Cambridge police spokesman Jeremy Warnick. During the pursuit, the suspect turned around and opened fire, exchanging gunshots with one officer, Warnick said.
No one was injured, he said. Investigators recovered at least three shell casings from the scene, including one on Cambridge Street, Warnick said. He said investigators have not determined who fired at the officer, but they considered Cammarata to be a person of interest.
Cammarata was also wanted on Middlesex Superior Court warrants charging him with assault to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon, according to a statement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Grossberg said Cammarata was scheduled to go on trial on those charges April 8, but he also faced a warrant in that case for cutting off a GPS-monitoring bracelet earlier this month. Cammarata was ordered to wear the bracelet as a condition of bail, Grossberg said. He said Cammarata’s relatives told him he cut off the bracelet after a fight with a family member.
The search for Cammarata Friday took officers to Portsmouth, where authorities contacted him via the hotel room phone, according to Portsmouth police. He quickly ended the conversation.
Cammarata tried to escape the hotel room through the window, but upon seeing officers outside, he retreated. A gunshot was then heard inside, Portsmouth police said.
Officers checked the hotel room with a robot and determined that Cammarata was dead, according to Portsmouth police.
A relative who asked not to be named said Cammarata went to prison as a teenager for his role in a fight and never found his footing after his release.
“He was just a good kid until he got into trouble when he was 17, and things just escalated from there,” the relative said. “He went to prison so long he had no chance.”
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