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Medford Man Sentenced For 2013 Murder

Posted on: March 10, 2016 - 11:08am

WOBURN – Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan has announced that Jessie Williams, 26, of Medford, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 2013 shooting death of 27-year-old Joseph Puopolo today in Middlesex Superior Court.  A Middlesex Superior Court jury found Williams guilty of first degree murder on February 5, 2016.

Judge Lawrence Pierce also sentenced the defendant to 9 to10 years on the charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and 4 to 5 years on possession of a firearm without a license. All of these sentences will be served concurrently.

“The defendant’s greed and disregard for human life caused the death of Joseph Puopolo,” said District Attorney Ryan. “Our thoughts remain with his family following today’s sentencing of the final defendant in this case.  Although we have reached the end of the trial phase, their loss remains.”

At 12:19 a.m. on July 3, 2013, Stoneham Police responded to reports of gunshots on Micah’s Pond Way in Stoneham. When officers arrived they found two males suffering from gunshot wounds. One of those men, Joseph Puopolo, had gunshot wounds to the chest and wrist. He was transported to Leahy Clinic where he was pronounced dead.  The second victim survived a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Puopolo had been invited to the Micah’s Pond Way home where a drug deal had been scheduled by the second victim. When Williams and his associate Eugene Tate arrived, they drew hand guns and demanded drugs and money before shooting the victims.

Eugene Tate, 21, of Malden, was convicted of first degree murder on Monday, November 23, 2015. The jury also found Tate guilty of armed robbery, armed assault in a dwelling and illegal possession of a firearm. Tate was sentenced  on November 30, 2015 to life without the possibility of parole.

This case was investigated by the Stoneham Police Department and Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

The prosecutors in this case were Assistant District Attorney Tom O’Reilly and Assistant District Attorney Doug Nagengast. The Victim Witness Advocate was Beth Lane.