In the early evening of July 30, 2023, a violent altercation outside the Back to the Roots store on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston tragically cut short the life of 33-year-old Jackson Beausejour, a Black / African American man from Mattapan. The incident, which unfolded at approximately 7:47 PM, began after a juvenile daughter of Riccardy Romain, a 51-year-old man from Chesterfield, Virginia, informed her father that an adult male had made her feel uncomfortable.
Romain then confronted the man, leading to a physical fight. Beausejour, who was Romain's brother-in-law, stepped in to try and de-escalate the situation.
During the struggle, Romain produced a firearm and fired, striking Beausejour in the neck. Beausejour was rushed to Boston Medical Center by Boston EMS, but he succumbed to the gunshot wound and was pronounced dead. After shooting his brother-in-law, Romain approached the other man involved in the initial dispute, pointed the gun at his head, and struck him with the weapon before the man could push the gun away. Romain then fled the scene in his black Cadillac pickup truck with his daughter.
A crucial piece of evidence came from a witness who had recorded the incident on their cellphone. The video captured a clear image of the shooter, his clothing, and the firearm, as well as the black Cadillac pickup with an attached U-Haul trailer fleeing the area. This footage allowed police to quickly identify and locate the vehicle less than half a mile from the crime scene.
Police stopped the truck and took Riccardy Romain and his juvenile daughter into custody without incident. A search of the vehicle uncovered two loaded pistols. Romain, whose clothing matched the description from the witness's video, was arrested and charged with murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. In October 2024, a Suffolk County jury convicted Riccardy Romain, then 52, of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Jackson Beausejour. He was also found guilty of two counts of carrying a firearm without a license and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
