PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Berkshire District Attorney's Office says Brodie Slonski was killed over an underground vape ring.
On Friday, Jaequan Spratling, who will be 19 next month, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court after being arrested the previous evening in the murder of 17-year-old Slonski last week.
Spratling is alleged to have orchestrated a meetup for disposable vapes between Slonski and another person, which then turned deadly, from his home. He is facing charges of murder and attempted armed robbery
Evidence was based on recovered Snapchat conversations and phone records, IP address tracking, testimony, and surveillance videos.
Slonski, a Taconic High School student, was found shot in his car after it crashed into a tree at the intersection of Franco Terrace and Parker Street on the evening of Oct. 26. First responders found the gunshot wound as he was being removed from the vehicle; he was taken to Berkshire Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Spratling is alleged to have been communicating with the victim before and immediately after the shooting. The person believed to be at the scene is identified as Juvenile 1, and District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said he may be arraigned on Monday.
Spratling denied being on the other side of the line when asked by police, saying the Snapchat account wasn't his, and later asked to speak with a lawyer.
"It is believed that Spratling and Juvenile #1 worked together to communicate with Slonski to have him arrive on Franco Terrace where Juvenile #1 would rob Slonski of money or vapes. The Snapchat communications transpired on an account belonging to Spratling and Juvenile #1 was observed leaving the residence at 648 Tyler Street with a gun and returning to the residence after the shooting where he stated that he shot someone," the probable cause report reads.
"During the time that Juvenile #1 was out of the residence, Spratling was in the bathroom, possibly communicating with the victim."
Based on the investigation, it appeared that Slonski may have fought back because of injuries found on Juvenile 1's face. Slonski was holding a backpack with counterfeit money when he was found, and a box of disposable vapes was on the passenger floor of the vehicle.
The report also cites Slonski's "apparent fear of an unknown party he likely owed money to" after a robbery the week prior, and concludes that his death was a result of actions from both Spratling and Juvenile 1. Slonski was allegedly given counterfeit money for disposable vapes the week before, and, according to the police report, investigators learned that he was fronted the vapes but told the debt was settled.
Police were dispatched to the scene on Oct. 26 around 6:11 p.m., and Slonski was pronounced dead just over a half-hour later. The medical examiner noted the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the torso, with the manner of death being homicide, indicating that it was not a survivable injury, and there were no other factors contributing to his death.
Two cell phones were found inside the white Honda HR-V that Slonski was driving, and a Snapchat conversation was discovered between "greenbadoon," which was confirmed to be Slonski, and "ebkquis3948."
According to police, during the conversation, the two agreed to meet on Franco Terrace near Parker Street. Slonski notified "ebkquis3948" that he had arrived, and "ebkquis3948" said he was about to see him and asked what type of car Slonski was in. This message was sent just before 6:08 p.m., and investigators believed the shooting happened around 6:09 p.m.
Police said Spratling was communicating with Slonski from home to set up the meeting, while another person was on site to meet Slonski, who police believe is Juvenile 1.
"This was the last of the intelligible conversation as the remainder was from Brodie's Snapchat account and the messages were not complete words or sentences," the report reads.
While in custody, Spratling told police that on the day of the homicide, he was notified that there was a car crash down the street, and went to the scene and saw that Slonski was badly hurt. Spratling said he did not know Slonski and denied using the Snapchat account "ebkquis3948" to communicate with him.
According to the report, when Spratling was notified that police had the conversation with "greenbadoon," he requested to speak with a lawyer shortly after. The IP address information revealed that the Snapchat account was using an internet source at 648 Tyler St. before and immediately after the shooting, and about one minute after, "ebkquis3948" had allegedly blocked "greenbadoon."
An unnamed witness, who is known to police, reported that Spratling was in the bathroom when Juvenile 1 left the Tyler Street residence wearing a black sweat shirt and with what appeared to be a firearm in his waistband. The witness later identified the juvenile in a photo array.
The witness told police that Juvenile 1 then returned to the residence and was frantic with blood splatter on his face, and stated, "I just shot him. I just shot him."
Surveillance footage in the area showed a person with dark clothing approaching the HR-V that Slonski was operating, and a short time after, a person in dark clothing was seen running northbound on Parker Street and back to the rear of 648 Tyler St.
Juvenile 1's girlfriend told police she believed he was wearing gray clothing, but could be wrong.
Shugrue commended the Pittsfield Police Department for its handling of the case.
"They worked around the clock, and they got it together," he said. "They worked closely with us. It was very, very successful. Ten days is pretty good, I think it's pretty quick."
Earlier Friday, in reporting Spratling's arrest, the DA said, "There have been many sleepless nights in pursuit of solving Brodie's murder. I am thankful to have such committed law enforcement in our county."
