In the hallway of a downtown courthouse, Maria Fernandes exchanged hugs of compassion yesterday with several other women waiting for the next chapter in the violence plaguing Boston's Cape Verdean community to play out.

Among those Fernandes exchanged greetings with was Dominga Carvalho, whose son, Chris, was seriously wounded on April 28 in the South End by an attacker riding in a white Dodge minivan - allegedly being driven by Fernandes's 17-year-old son, Daniel.

Chris Carvalho, 24, survived the 2:30 a.m. shooting on East Berkeley Street, but a second man riding with him -- 22-year-old Jose J. Daveiga - was killed, the latest victim in an eight-year spasm of violence within the tightly knit Cape Verdean community.

Yesterday, as a dozen women, including Dominga Carvalho, sat on wooden benches in Boston Municipal Court, Daniel Fernandes pleaded not guilty to one count of accessory after the fact to murder before Judge Michael Coyne, who set bail at $50,000 cash and ordered Fernandes to remain in the custody of the Department of Youth Services.

Fernandes, who lived with his family in a Washington Street apartment in Dorchester, was kept out of the courtroom at the request of his court-appointed attorney, Stephen J. Weymouth. Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Dennis Collins identified Fernandes as the "getaway driver" who was behind the wheel when police stopped the van on a Dorchester street about 30 minutes after the shooting.

Collins said a handgun - described in court records as a 9mm - was found inside the van. Authorities allege Carvalho and Daveiga were attacked while they were riding in a Ford Taurus near the intersection of Albany and East Berkeley streets. After the shooting, the Taurus slammed into a parked car, where police found it with its engine racing and the two victims sitting inside, bleeding from gunshot wounds.

On Friday, 19-year-old Odair Fernandes of Speedwell Street in Dorchester is scheduled for arraignment on one count of first- degree murder and gun possession charges.

Odair Fernandes, who is not related to Daniel Fernandes, was released on April 1 from the Suffolk County House of Correction where he had served some 500 days for gun convictions and motor vehicle offenses.

He was back in prison just 28 days later, where he remains pending his murder arraignment.

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.