A white man from Massachusetts was convicted this week of second-degree murder and civil rights violations for running down a Black and Latino man with his pickup truck during a racially motivated attack two years ago.
Dean Kapsalis, 54, of Hudson, Mass., was found guilty of all charges related to the attack by a Middlesex Superior Court jury after a three-week trial and four days of deliberations, the Boston Globe reported. The victim was Henry Tapia, a 34-year-old father of three.
“Prosecutors say the two motorists were arguing on Upland Road as Tapia stood outside his own car, when Kapsalis used a racial slur and deliberately ran over Tapia with his truck,” the Globe reported. “Jurors convicted Kapsalis of second-degree murder, violation of constitutional rights, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon [the truck] and leaving the scene of an accident.
Judge David Deakin scheduled a June 27 sentencing date for Kapsalis, who faces life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years for the murder charge.
NBC-10 of Boston added this reporting: “Kapsalis' list of driving infractions dates back to 1984, including seven crashes and 18 speeding tickets, according to Registry of Motor Vehicles records found by the NBC10 Investigators. They also show his license has been suspended 10 times.”
As Raw Story reported at the time of the arrest, Kapsalis struck Tapias and dragged him a short distance with his truck before fleeing the scene, but he turned himself in to police about a half hour later. Here’s more from that report:
“I just heard the commotion, heard my daughter scream, came to the window and I saw the gentleman on the ground with my daughter and son-in-law trying to help," neighbor Brian Dawe told WBZ-TV. "He was just in pain." Tapia, a father of three, was taken to a nearby hospital but died from his injuries.
"Words can't describe the pain I'm feeling right now," said his brother, David Tapia. "I hope you get locked up for a long time, man."
