The Cambridge Housing Authority is evicting the tenant who lived in the apartment at 116 Norfolk St. where one visitor fatally stabbed another on Jan. 6, court records show. The CHA said the tenant, Cheryl A. Tucker, 56, violated her lease and endangered others in the building when she let the two men visit her. She must leave by March 15, according to an agreement filed in housing court in Boston on Feb. 11.
The 62-unit building houses formerly homeless individuals and offers support to transition them to permanent housing. Tucker, who moved into the development in July, let Victor J. Rivas, 51, of South Boston and Antoine Johnson, 37, of Freetown visit her on Jan. 6, according to CHA’s request for a preliminary court order voiding her lease and barring her from the building.
Rivas told Cambridge police that he stabbed Johnson when Johnson attacked him with a knife during an attempted marijuana sale. According to CHA’s injunction filing, the fight “spilled out into the common area hallway,” and a bleeding Johnson chased Rivas throughout the building until Johnson finally collapsed “in the common area vestibule.” The incident threatened others in the building and “interfered with the quiet enjoyment of the other residents and staff,” CHA’s filing said.
Paramedics took Johnson to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he died, according to police. Officers arrested Rivas shortly after the stabbing as he walked along Massachusetts Ave. Both men had criminal records, Rivas mainly for drug offenses and Johnson for violence.
Tucker has a history of homelessness and substance abuse. In 2019 she told the Harvard Crimson she had spent 16 years in prison, primarily for drug-related crimes. She’s been arrested 15 times since 2019, including three for assault and four for drug use, according to court records. She was arrested just two days after the stabbing for alleged possession of Class B drugs, a category that includes amphetamines and cocaine.
Police saw her on Franklin St. using a substance believed to be crack cocaine, according to the Cambridge police daily log. She was released without bail on condition that she stay away from 237 Franklin St., CHA’s Manning Apartments, a 19-story building in Central Square for low-income elderly residents and younger disabled people.
The agreement filed in housing court says that Rivas “specifically shall not be found in (Tucker’s) apartment” and if he is, Tucker “shall be deemed in violation of this agreement” unless she can prove she called 9-1-1 to have him removed.
Rivas is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon leading to serious bodily injury and carrying a dangerous weapon, charges that don’t reflect the fact that Johnson died. At Rivas’ arraignment Jan. 9 he pled not guilty and his attorney said he had acted in self-defense. Assistant District Attorney Jacob McCrindle told the judge that there was some corroboration of that claim and prosecutors were continuing to investigate.
An entry in court records hinted that the Middlesex District Attorney’s office may be presenting the case to a grand jury; if so, that could lead to more serious charges. A report to the court by the prosecution, listing materials that have been turned over to Rivas’ attorney as required by law, said grand jury minutes “will be provided upon receipt.
Meghan Kelly, spokesperson for Middlesex DA Marian Ryan, said the DA’s office “is prohibited from commenting on grand jury proceedings.”
This story was updated to include a comment from the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.
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