Alleged shooter in South End homicide was on pass from DYS to attend Red Sox game

By Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A teenager charged with shooting a man in the South End this weekend was on a day pass from the Department of Youth Services to attend a Red Sox game when the killing took place, a prosecutor said in court today.

Ricardo Arias, 17, was arraigned this afternoon as an adult in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of murder. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. He is expected to be held at the Nashua Street Jail.

Arias is one of two teenagers facing charges in connection with Saturday night’s shooting of the victim, Alex Sierra. Sierra, 18, had no criminal history and and no connection to street gangs. He was shot around 7:20 p.m. Saturday near the intersections of Tremont and West Brookline streets before he tumbled inside the El Barberito’s Unisex hair salon, prosecutors said.

Sierra’s only mistake was telling a gunman that he lived at the Villa Victoria housing development, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Amy Galatis said in court today.

Sierra was approached by a gunman who asked him a question. “Are you from the Villa?’’ the shooter allegedly asked Sierra. “Yes,’’ Sierra replied.

The gunman then shot him, according to Galatis. Earlier today, a 16-year-old appeared in Boston Juvenile Court, where bail was set at $250,000 cash. He is charged with juvenile delinquency, specifically being an accessory after the fact of murder.

His name was not released because of his age. The juvenile was arrested while riding in a car police had stopped on Annunciation Road shortly after the gunfire.

According to Galatis, Arias had obtained the day pass from DYS so he could attend last Saturday’s game at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers. The game started at 4 p.m. Galatis said Arias left the game before it ended and then shot and killed Sierra.