Lynn man pleads innocent to murder during home invasion

SALEM – A Lynn man charged with first-degree murder as a result of a home invasion in Lynn in 2009 remains held without bail, after pleading innocent.Amaral P. Pierre-Louis, 31, formerly of 24 Elmwood Ave., #2, is charged with the fatal shooting of Jose L. Ramos in a second-floor apartment at 176 Shepard St. in Lynn on Jan. 16, 2009.Ramos, of 12 Warren Place, was shot in the face sometime before 9:55 p.m., according to reports.Investigators believe that Pierre-Louis and Ramos went to the second-floor apartment to rob the occupants at gunpoint, but during the home invasion as they were beating and threatening the occupants for their money, something went wrong when they were in the apartment and a gunshot went off, killing Ramos.Pierre-Louis fled the scene and was picked up in Florida. He was indicted by an Essex County grand jury in February of 2010 on the home invasion and assault charges, allegations he denied and is awaiting trial on.Assistant District Attorney Greg A. Friedholm sought a DNA sample from Pierre-Louis, which resulted in the first-degree felony murder indictment being handed up against him earlier this month by a grand jury.Friedholm explained, when asked, that the theory of the first-degree felony murder charge against Pierre-Louis comes from when a person is involved in a felony, citing Pierre-Louis has been charged with home invasion in connection with the case and that charge carries a potential life sentence, and because a person was killed because of that conduct it is a felony first-degree murder, not premeditated as most often first-degree murder charges are.Pierre-Louis is due back in court on Nov. 22 on both cases.