Brown Found Guilty of 1st Degree Murder in 2013 Fitchburg Shooting

Friday, September 30, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Worcester DA Joseph Early Jr.

Dinkue Brown was found guilty of first degree murder in the 2013 shooting death of Luis Rodriguez in Fitchburg, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. announced on Thursday.

“I’m proud of the work our prosecution team of Michael McHugh, John Sares and Susan Oftring did on this case. When you see the devastation this murder has brought to his loved ones, it validates the work we put in to bring justice to the family. I want to thank the jury for the hard work they put in on this case. This wasn’t easy," said Early.

Brown faces the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Judge David Ricciardone scheduled sentencing for Oct. 14

The Incident

Brown, 30, of 33 Adams St., Fitchburg, devised a plan to have a colleague rob Rodriguez on June 21, 2013 in Rodriguez’s apartment at 82 Marshall St. The colleague, Dax Gibson, shot and killed Rodriguez during the robbery.

Rodriguez ran from the apartment and was found bleeding on a neighbor’s porch a short time later. He was taken to Leominster Hospital and was pronounced dead.

A Superior Court jury found Gibson guilty of first-degree murder in February and the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole was imposed.

Brown, who fled to Richmond, Indiana, where he was arrested about a month after the shooting, was also found guilty of home invasion, armed assault in a dwelling, armed assault to rob and firearm charges.

He was found not guilty of kidnapping and threatening to commit a crime.