Roslindale Murder Victim Alicia Heywood Remembered As 'Person You Could Always Count On'
BROCKTON (CBS) – Alicia Heywood's family and friends sat in a Brockton courtroom Thursday as Akil Jackson, the man who allegedly killed her outside of Sullivan's Pharmacy in Roslindale, made his first appearance.
Jackson was appearing on charges related to his arrest in West Bridgewater, and was ordered held on $100,000 cash bail until he can be transferred to face charges related to Heywood's murder.
On Wednesday, a woman who has a restraining order out against Jackson contacted a SafePlan victim witness advocate and used an emergency phrase to indicate she was in immediate danger.
"They set up a procedure so if you are in danger, if you feel that you are in danger for whatever reason, you're going to have a word that you are going to be able to say," said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz. "Maybe that person is nearby, so you can't say I'm in danger. So you need to have a target word that will signify to them that you need to have the police show up."
West Bridgewater Police found Jackson behind a West Center Street building. Police say Jackson began to quickly walk away and got into a car. An officer saw Jackson with a semi-automatic gun in his waistband.
When told to drop the gun, Jackson allegedly refused and then turned the weapon toward himself. That is when officers were able to move in and take the murder suspect into custody.
He was arraigned Thursday in Brockton District Court for unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and violation of a restraining order.
At Jackson's arraignment, the prosecutor recognized the SafeLink system factored in. "Based on the officers' actions, there could have been an additional murder at that scene," said William O'Driscoll.
The West Bridgewater Police say the system worked the way it was designed. "We had an immediate safe and quick response," said West Bridgewater Lt. Tim Nixon. "This could not have been a better situation, with a better outcome with a real bad guy."
Jackson will be brought to West Roxbury District Court to face murder charges. The Suffolk District Attorney's office said Jackson will be arraigned Friday.
Heywood's family sat in the courtroom Thursday, wearing shirts that said "Always in our hearts."
"She would take the shirt off her back to give to you. She would do anything for anybody," one woman said about Heywood.
"She's a person you could always count on to have your back, no matter what. The person you could call who you knew could always be there, that's her," another loved one added after Jackson's first arraignment.
