The following is a press release from the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.:
WORCESTER — A 41-year-old man was sentenced to serve a total of 38 to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to fatally shooting 33-year-old Kevin Gonsalves in Blackstone in 2015, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr.
William Hodges pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, intimidation of a witness, and possession of a firearm and ammunition charges on Tuesday.
Judge Janet Kenton-Walker sentenced Hodges to serve 19 to 20 years on the manslaughter charge and an additional 19 to 20 years on the intimidation of a witness charge.
Hodges was sentenced to serve 4 to 5 years on the firearms charge and 2 years on the ammunition possession charge. Those sentences will be served concurrently with the sentence being served in the intimidation of a witness charge.
“Our prosecutors, Senior First Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey T. Travers, Assistant District Attorney David Feraco, and Assistant District Attorney DonnaMarie Haran worked extremely hard to bring this case to a resolution,” Mr. Early said. “I want to thank our Chief Victim Witness Advocate Margaret Rwaramba for supporting Mr. Gonsalves’ family through the process.”
“On behalf of the Blackstone Police Department, I would like to extend my thoughts to Kevin Gonsalves’ family and friends, and hope that the resolution of this case will help to bring some closure,” Blackstone Police Chief Gregory Gilmore said. “From the moment the call came in until this suspect was in custody, agencies from across the region worked together to bring justice for the victim. I would like to commend the Blackstone Police Officers who worked tirelessly on this case as well as thank our law enforcement partners who helped us in achieving this outcome, including the Massachusetts State Police, Milford Police Department, Blackstone Valley Counter Drug and Counter Crimes Task Force, and District Attorney Joseph Early and his office.”
Hodges fatally shot Gonsalves on the evening of November 20, 2015, on Mendon Street in Blackstone. Gonsalves went to the address with Hodges under the guise of robbing someone. Hodges shot Gonsalves three times after he got out of a vehicle.
Several law enforcement agencies worked together on this case, including the Blackstone Police Department, Milford Police Department, Quincy Police Department, the State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, State Police Crime Scene Services, the State Police Dive Team, and personnel from the State Police Crime Lab.
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