New Bedford Man Murdered in Mashpee, Suspect Held

A Mashpee man was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in the shooting death of Damian Anderson, 45, of New Bedford.

Norman Dias, 32, appeared in Falmouth District Court Wednesday following his arrest Tuesday in Boston in connection with Monday night's fatal shooting in Mashpee.

Mashpee police responded late Monday to Collins Lane, a dead-end street, for a report of shots fired. Officers say they found Anderson lying in the middle of the road with multiple gunshot wounds. Mashpee Fire and Rescue Department staff treated Anderson at the scene and transported him to Cape Cod Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cape and Islands ADA Daniel Higgins said at Wednesday's arraignment.

Dias and a woman were found in the woods near the scene, and Dias, who appeared to be intoxicated, was placed in protective custody, Higgins said. Officers found a spent shotgun shell in Dias' pocket, and he denied knowledge of how it got there. He was interviewed again Tuesday morning, and admitted to being in the area at the time, but was released after he was questioned, the Cape Cod Times reports. The investigation continued and probable cause was established for an arrest warrant on a murder charge, and at around 7 p.m. Tuesday Dias was found in Boston.

Defense attorney Ruth McLaughlin argued in court that Dias was not the shooter and that he merely picked up a spent bullet at the scene. Dias is being held at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility. Judge Edward F.X. Lynch scheduled a probable cause hearing for Aug. 20.