Charles Bunch Jr., who was 18, was identified as the man who pulled the trigger on the gun used to shoot Steven Odom

Roxbury gang member shot to death 13-year-old Steven Odom in Dorchester nearly two years ago, as the minister's son was walking home with friends - and was then himself killed in an unrelated shooting 10 days later, authorities said at a press conference yesterday.Charles Bunch Jr., who was 18, was identified as the man who pulled the trigger on the gun used to shoot Odom in a case of mistaken identity that killed the middle-schooler on Oct. 4, 2007, law enforcement officials said. Odom was shot in the head as he approached his home on Evans Street while walking with two friends.
Officials also announced the arrest and a six-count indictment against David Johnson, 18, of Mattapan, whom authorities allege provided the gun to Bunch.Both belonged to a street gang on Delhi Street in Dorchester, authorities said. Bunch, who was riding in a car, mistook one of Odom's friends as a member of a rival gang on Thetford Avenue. "Bunch then called Johnson and told them he needed a gun to 'handle' that rival," said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.Bunch, who was a senior at Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, would have been charged with first-degree murder had he not died in an unrelated gang shooting on Orlando Street on Oct. 14, 2007, Conley said."We're taking the unprecedented step of announcing that the evidence we've developed would support his conviction for Steven's homicide," Conley said.
Conley said police are still investigating Bunch's death and vow to catch his killer."We have committed the same resources to solving it as we do every murder on Boston's streets," he said.Bunch was known to police, and the Delhi Street gang was "very high on our radar screen" Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said yesterday.An 18-month investigation by Boston police led authorities to conclude that Bunch killed Odom.Johnson provided the gun, a .357 Colt Python, to Bunch, who returned to Evans Street and opened fire, Conley said. "One of the bullets . . . struck Steven in the head," he said. Bunch then returned to observe the scene.
"Rather than express remorse . . . he made statements in the days that followed equating Steven's death to a mere casualty," Conley said.A Suffolk County special grand jury last week returned a six-count indictment against Johnson and he was arrested Friday at 3 p.m. at his Mattapan home. He has been charged with one count each of being an accessory before a murder, after a murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition. He also was charged with being an accessory before and after an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.Johnson will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow morning. The charges carry a potential life sentence, Conley said.Steven Odom was one of five children born to Kim and Ronald Odom, who is the pastor of True Vine Pentecostal Assembly. The couple, who plan to speak publicly today about the arrest, want to reach out to the families of Bunch and Johnson, Kim Odom said."We want to exemplify forgiveness," Kim Odom said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I know that's a hard thing to comprehend, but that's the example we have been teaching and it's the example that we stand on through our faith in God."
Still, Kim Odom said she is saddened by the news about Bunch and Johnson's alleged actions. "Their mindset was just about killing," she said.Davis praised the Odoms for the grace they have shown since their son's murder. "These are good, God-fearing decent people," Davis said, speaking at the news conference.
The death of Steven Odom, who attended James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury, sparked outrage and calls to end the violence on the city's streets, and officials yesterday vowed to work to end gang violence in Boston.One local youth advocate said Johnson's indictment in Odom's murder is significant."It is important for the sense of justice for kids like Steven who had nothing to do with street violence," said Emmet Folgert, executive director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative. "This is an arrest for all of them."
Conley said that he has come to know the Odom family and that he is certain Steven "would have grown up to be a force for good in his community.""Two worlds collided on the night of Oct. 4, 2007," Conley said."One was the world occupied by Steven Odom. The other was occupied by the people who caused his death."