Suspect in Randolph killing is arrested on return from Haiti

Youth, 17, nabbed at Florida airport

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff  |  August 29, 2007

A 17-year-old Haitian man is expected to face a rendition hearing in Florida today following his arrest yesterday in the July 4 slaying of a 24-year-old man in Randolph.

Jeanmarie Thebaud was arrested by a team of local, state and federal officers after landing on a flight from Haiti to the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said in a phone interview yesterday.

John Lubin of Randolph was shot to death early on Independence Day at a crowded house party on Bayberry Street in Randolph. Keating said the gunman immediately fled into the crowd of about 100 people.

Ernest Termitus, Lubin's stepfather, said the family was notified of the arrest yesterday afternoon and is relieved.

"It's been like hell for everybody here," Termitus said in a telephone interview. "His mother couldn't accept the reality. We never expected to bury him that young."

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant for Thebaud on Aug. 2. Investigators believed the suspect was in Haiti at the time, and the arrest warrant was sealed, kept secret by the court to protect the ongoing investigation.

Keating would not say how authorities learned Thebaud would be on a flight yesterday from Haiti to Boston, which had a layover in Fort Lauderdale. Investigators from the State Police and Randolph Police Department flew to Fort Lauderdale and worked with customs agents and officials from the Broward County sheriff's office to detain Thebaud as he left the plane just after 1 p.m.

"He was certainly surprised," Keating said.

Thebaud, who was 16 at the time of the killing, will be tried as an adult, Keating said.

If Thebaud fights rendition to Massachusetts today, Keating said, his office will seek a governor's warrant to have him returned to the state, where he would be arraigned on first-degree murder charges in Quincy District Court.

Termitus said the family would probably cut short a planned vacation to attend Thebaud's hearing if he appears in court this week.

"We don't know the guy," Termitus said. "We would like to see him, see his face. We're not expecting any revenge."

Termitus said the family, which immigrated from Haiti about 15 years ago, had suspected Lubin's killer might also be Haitian.

"We hope that when the truth comes out and justice prevails, this violence can stop," Termitus said.

A prayer vigil was held a week after Lubin's death. Keating said authorities decided to announce the arrest, despite keeping the warrant sealed, in part to quell fears in the community.

"We do believe and have evidence that it wasn't a random shooting," he said.

John C. Drake can be reached at jdrake@globe.com.