DA: Melinda Brady indicted by grand jury

Melinda Brady, accused of aiding her husband in the robbery that resulted in the execution-style slayings of four people in a Medford pharmacy last month, has been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury, according to the district attorney's office.

Brady, 29, of Medford, who had been charged with third-degree robbery in the June 19 shooting at Haven Drugs, is expected to be arraigned in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead Tuesday, said Robert Clifford, spokesman for District Attorney Thomas Spota.

It was not known Monday night whether Brady's indictment, which was still sealed, contains other charges in connection with the shooting. But when Brady was arraigned after her arrest last month, prosecutors said charges would likely be upgraded.

Brady's Legal Aid attorney, Jeremy Mis, could not be reached to comment last night.

Brady is married to David Laffer, 33, the man Suffolk police said murdered pharmacist Raymond Ferguson, drugstore employee Jennifer Mejia, 17, and customers Jaime Taccetta, 33, and Bryon Sheffield, 71, in a robbery of prescription painkillers.

Laffer was indicted on first-degree murder and resisting arrest charges on June 27.

Prosecutors have said that Brady drove the getaway car. According to felony complaints filed after her arrest, she told detectives she worked with Laffer to plan the robbery, even helping him with the disguise, but he wasn't supposed to kill anyone.

With Bill Mason