On a summer night in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the life of 31-year-old Andrew Musgrave, a White male from Amherst, was tragically cut short. The incident unfolded on Saturday, August 3, 2019, just before midnight. Holyoke police officers on patrol near the intersection of Appleton, High, and Maple streets heard what they believed to be gunshots. Moments later, a 911 call reported a person had been shot at the McDonald's located at 285 Maple Street.
Upon their arrival, officers found Andrew Musgrave outside the restaurant, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later confirmed that Musgrave died from a gunshot wound to his upper back. The shooting was the city's fourth homicide in a three-month span. Musgrave was remembered by his family as a man with an "irrepressible exuberance for life," who saw friends in everyone he met.
The investigation into Musgrave's death quickly led to a suspect. Dennis Guzman, 19, of Holyoke, was identified as the alleged shooter. Surveillance footage from inside the McDonald's captured an interaction between Musgrave, Guzman, Guzman's father, and another man. The footage reportedly showed the men talking before they all moved outside into the parking lot. Witnesses reported seeing an argument and a physical altercation, with one man punching Musgrave before he was shot.
An arrest warrant was issued for Guzman, charging him with murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm. A multi-agency search involving the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, Holyoke Police, and other units was launched. On August 8, 2019, just five days after the shooting, Guzman was apprehended in North Philadelphia by the U.S. Marshals Service and Philadelphia Police Department. He was initially held as a fugitive from justice before being returned to Massachusetts at the end of August. On September 4, 2019, Guzman was arraigned in Holyoke District Court where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Andrew Musgrave and was ordered to be held without the right to bail.
