John Ruch
Web Exclusive
The killer of a Jamaica Plain man finally was convicted in June, 30 years after the crime.
Gregory McDavid, who was 30 years old at the time, was shot to death on a Dorchester street in May 1979 when a drug robbery turned into a homicide, according to Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Erika Gully-Santiago.
Richard Franklin, a 17-year-old at the time, approached McDavid’s car, intending to rob McDavid of the proceeds of a marijuana sale, according to Gully-Santiago. Instead, Franklin shot McDavid through the car window.
The killing was a mystery until 1995, when Franklin confessed his guilt to a community service officer at a Brockton housing development. Franklin was jailed and later put in a secure mental hospital, where he was ruled incompetent to stand trial.
In recent years, Franklin was deemed able to stand trial. A Suffolk County Superior Court jury found him guilty of manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm on June 23.
A judge sentenced Franklin, now 47, to 15-20 years in prison. But, because Franklin has been jailed or locked in the mental hospital since 1995, he was ruled to have already served his time.
Franklin is now facing deportation to his native country of Jamaica by federal authorities, according to Gully-Santiago.