In the early evening of August 22, 2016, a dispute between neighbors on Hamilton Street in Worcester, Massachusetts, turned fatal. Twenty-four-year-old Carlos Miguel Maldonado Zayas, a Hispanic male, was found lying on a front lawn with a single gunshot wound. Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 6 p.m., and he was quickly transported to a nearby hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Witnesses at the scene directed police to the rear of a
neighboring building, where they located 42-year-old Jacinto Maldonado. He was reportedly lying on the ground with his arms apart, waiting for the authorities. Investigators determined that the shooting was the culmination of an ongoing dispute between the two men, who lived in different units within the same building but were not related to each other.
Jacinto Maldonado was taken into custody and subsequently charged with murder. Initially, he was charged with aggravated assault and battery with intent to cause serious bodily injury, but the charges were upgraded following Carlos Maldonado's death. He was ordered to be held without bail after pleading not guilty. The death marked the city's fifth homicide of that year.
