PITTSFIELD – A Pittsfield man accused of firing the shot which led to the death of a Goshen man in 2014 was arraigned Monday in Berkshire Superior Court on murder and weapons charges.
Laquan Johnson, 20, is accused of shooting Anthony Gamache, 29, in the leg during a botched robbery in the parking lot of the Big Y supermarket on West Street on Nov. 18, 2014.
Johnson pleaded not guilty before Judge Daniel Ford to charges of second-degree murder, armed assault with intent to rob, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and illegal possession of a firearm.
On the night of the shooting, Gamache was driven to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton and then taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was treated and released.
The following evening, Gamache went into cardiac arrest at his home and was taken by emergency medical technicians back to Cooley Dickinson, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy determined that Gamache died as the result of a blood clot caused by the bullet wound to his leg.
A second man implicated in Gamache’s death, Peter J. Campbell, 19, was arraigned on the same murder and weapons charges in December 2014 and, while being held in custody awaiting trial, was charged with intimidation of a witness that allegedly relates to the murder case.
Both men face life in prison if convicted on the murder charges.