Sean Brewer, a habitual criminal with convictions involving drugs and violence, was arraigned Tuesday in tears for what he described as the accidental shooting death of his wife on Sunday in a Winthrop apartment.

The court in East Boston set bail at $100,000 in the case, though Mr Brewer was ordered held in custody for the immediate future because of unrelated previous cases still pending against him, which include a charge of assault and battery on a police officer.

Mr Brewer was charged with manslaughter in the shooting of his wife, Jacklyn Berry, in her apartment at 26 Beacon Street, across from the Massa Playground.

Accident claim

The defendant claimed, in a narration of the case provided by prosecutors, that his wife was accidentally shot after he awoke for church and found clothing in the apartment that did not belong to him, including a jacket containing the gun.

“He indicated he took the firearm out and asked Miss Berry about it,” Sarah McEvoy, an assistant district attorney handling the prosecution, told the court. “He indicated he didn’t touch the trigger and the firearm spontaneously went off striking Miss Berry.”

A police search of the scene found a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and one spent cartridge, Ms McEvoy said.

Defendant sobbed

Winthrop police came to the scene around 8:30 am Sunday in response to multiple calls reporting a loud argument at the location. The police found Ms Berry in bed suffering from a gunshot wound, and she was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

The owner of the building at 26 Beacon Street said in a statement that Ms Berry was the only party on her apartment’s lease, and said that the rental company never received any indication that Mr Brewer was a tenant there.

Mr Brewer, in his brief arraignment appearance before the court, did not speak. He sobbed on occasion, at one point audibly, while reaching to the ground.

Several friends of Ms Berry also attended the arraignment at the East Boston District Court building and declined to comment on the situation. Some of the friends have begun a fundraising effort on behalf of the Berry family.

Troubled history

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Brewer’s defense attorney, Lorenzo Perez, said that Ms Berry made comments prior to her death that indicated she believed the shooting to be accidental. Mr Perez said the 47-year-old Ms Berry and 58-year-old Mr Brewer were recently married, and said he did not know the origins of the clothes or the gun.

Mr Brewer has a “lengthy criminal record with numerous convictions including crimes of violence and drug offenses,” plus the pending case of assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, Ms McEvoy said.

A Boston Globe report described Mr Brewer as having a history of homelessness and mental illness that included dropping out of grade-school in Dorchester, and said that Ms Berry wrote last year to a judge asking for him to be released from jail after he allegedly stabbed a man outside a church near the Boston Common.

Mr Brewer was scheduled to return to court on July 15 for the manslaughter case, with hearings on other matters expected in June and July.