Nelson Pires is escorted into Providence District Court to face child endangerment charges, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (WJAR)
A man faced a judge Thursday on child endangerment charges, several weeks after his 7-year-old daughter was shot and killed in Providence, Rhode Island.
NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR reports that 27-year-old Nelson Pires is facing two counts of child endangerment, as well as a charge for driving on a suspended license, as both Providence police and the attorney general's office had sought to file charges against him following the Aug. 29 shooting. He was arraigned in Providence District Court, where bail was set at $50,000 with surety.
"In this case the actions of Nelson Pires demonstrated a total disregard for the safety and well-being of his children," Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said at a news conference. "The nature of his actions went beyond poor judgment."
Authorities had previously said that an altercation led up to the girl's tragic death and that Pires, who has a lengthy criminal history of domestic violence and was out on bond at the time of the shooting, was the intended target.
Prosecutors provided more details in court Thursday about what happened, saying it all started at a Providence 7-Eleven store, where Pires and one of the murder suspects, Shaheem Nathaniel, got into an argument before leaving in separate vehicles.
“The vehicle containing Mr. Nathaniel in which he was a passenger, proceeded from the store towards Florence Street. The allegation is that Mr. Pires followed that vehicle in his own vehicle and on at least on two occasions actually bumped into the bumper of the vehicle where Mr. Nathaniel was a passenger. When they arrived at Florence Street, the Nathaniel vehicle pulled over to park in front of a home, where the occupants were heading to a party. At that point in time, this defendant drove his vehicle at the two of the passengers in the vehicle,” a prosecutor said in court, according to WJAR.
"He then began to back up, and as he backed up, the two individuals, Mr. Nathaniel and Mr. Cabrera opened fire, and one of those shots unfortunately struck the defendant’s young daughter," the prosecutor added.
Authorities had previously said Pires' 7-year-old daughter Ny'Eil Kelley Pires was shot while sitting in the car with her dad and brother on Florence Street. The little girl fought for her life for several days before succumbing to her injuries on Sept. 2 at Hasbro Children's Hospital.
Ny'eil, who has been remembered as a beautiful light, was laid to rest on Sept. 14 -- a day after what would have been her 8th birthday.
Police also previously announced that two men are facing murder charges in this case. They are due in court Thursday for bail hearings.
WJAR reports that Pires will also be presented as a violator, as he has several domestic violence charges and active sentences. He's reportedly due in Superior Court at 2 p.m. Thursday in connection with his previous sentences.
Attorney information for all three men wasn't immediately available.
