Suspect in Eastie stabbing slay held

A judge separated two emotionally charged families in court with more than a half-dozen uniformed cops between them while a relaxed, smiling and sometimes laughing teen pleaded not guilty to brutally stabbing a man to death on an East Boston sidewalk.

Darius Joseph Barry, 18, charged with Wednesday’s murder of Gage Lucas Smith, 23, was ordered held without bail by East Boston District Court First Justice John E. McDonald Jr. pending a Sept. 26 probable cause hearing, as his mother clutched her chest and gasped, and while supporters called out, “Love you!” to the teen suspect.

Smith’s family clung to each other and wept after Assistant Suffolk District Attorney Jennifer Hickman described for McDonald how Smith died as the result of an argument.

Barry was one of three males who pulled over on Paris Street early Wednesday morning in a 2005 maroon Ford Taurus and started quarreling with Smith. Neither the prosecutor nor court documents released yesterday elaborate on what the fight was about.

“The victim in this case, Mr. Smith, was leaning outside a window. There was a verbal argument going back and forth,” Hickman said. “A short time later, Mr. Smith exited 217 Paris St.”

Hickman said the individuals in the car got out and a physical brawl ensued until Barry, “armed with a knife, stabbed Mr. Smith multiple times before fleeing the scene with the other individuals in that vehicle.”

Smith, bleeding out from stab wounds to the chest, abdomen and back, was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital, she said.

Prosecutors didn’t say why Smith, a Boston native, was at the address. Both families left the courthouse without commenting.

Police pinned the murder on Barry through “suspect interviews, witness interviews, video surveillance and physical evidence,” court records state.

Defense attorney Steven Sack acknowledged the teen has a juvenile record, but said he also “has extremely strong support in his community.”

“It seems to me that, when there’s a fight, that doesn’t often culminate in a conviction for firstdegree murder, although he’s charged with that now,” Sack said. “Neither I, nor the court, are aware of any complete investigation.”

Sack said Barry grew up in East Boston, but for some time now has been bouncing from shelter to shelter with his mother and sister.