On the evening of September 4, 1989, a burst of violence shattered the quiet of a Brockton, Massachusetts street corner, leaving one man dead and another seriously wounded. Rolando Barros, a male resident of the city, was standing at the intersection of Wyman Street and Walnut Street at approximately 7:30 P.M. with two other individuals, Jose DeAndrade and Maurice Ware. Suddenly, the sound of multiple gunshots echoed through the neighborhood.
When the firing ceased, Rolando Barros lay fatally wounded, and Jose DeAndrade had suffered a serious gunshot wound to his stomach. Maurice Ware escaped the hail of bullets unharmed.
The investigation into the shooting revealed a prelude of conflict. Maurice Ware informed authorities that just two or three days prior to the deadly assault, he had been confronted by a man named Steven A. James, who had robbed him of his gold chains. On the day of the shooting itself, Ware recounted another encounter, stating that he had seen James and another man, Anibal Rodrigues-Lopes, slowly driving by the area in a Jeep-style vehicle about half an hour before the shots rang out. The motive for the shooting appeared to be rooted in a dispute between James and the Ware family, which had escalated to threats earlier on the day of the murder.
The subsequent police investigation led to the arrests of two suspects, David L. Clarke and Steven A. James. A key witness for the prosecution, Anibal Rodrigues-Lopes, who was a friend of both defendants, testified under a grant of immunity. His testimony, along with that of others, painted a picture of a retaliatory act of violence. According to court documents, after the shooting, Clarke expressed a chilling sentiment to Rodrigues-Lopes, who was a cousin of the deceased Rolando Barros. Clarke apologized, stating that Barros "was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Another witness, a friend of the defendants named Samuel Jordan, overheard Clarke admit to the shooting. Jordan testified that Clarke was unsure whether it was his own bullet or one fired by his accomplice, Greene, that had killed Barros.
David L. Clarke and Steven A. James were tried jointly for their roles in the violent outburst. The evidence presented during the trial was compelling enough for a jury to find them both guilty. They were convicted of murder in the first degree for the death of Rolando Barros, as well as armed assault with intent to murder for the shooting of Jose DeAndrade, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon. For the murder of Rolando Barros, both Clarke and James received mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole.
