Man Gets Life in Prison for South End Murder

A Roslindale man was sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 murder of South End resident Alex Sierra in the South End. 

Richardo Arias, 20, was charged with first-degree murder and gun possession in the shooting death of the 18-year-old Sierra, who was killed at the Villa Victoria housing complex near the intersection of West Brookline and Tremont streets on the evening of Sept. 3, 2011. 

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, although Sierra was not in a gang himself, his death was attributed to a dispute between gangs in the Villa Victoria and Mission Hill areas. 

On the night of the murder, Arias, who had been in custody of the Department of Youth Services, was on a one-day pass to attend a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, the DA's office said. Instead he left the ballpark with Antonia Saez to go to the Villa Victoria housing development in the South End. 

Witnesses testified during the trial that Arias approached several young men and asked if they were “from the Villa.” The last person he approached was Sierra, who answered in the affirmative.  Arias pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at Sierra, who staggered into a barbershop where he collapsed. He died of his injuries at Boston Medical Center.

A witness saw Arias and Saez running from the scene and was able to provide a partial license plate number of the vehicle the two entered.  That vehicle was spotted by police minutes later in the area of Mission Hill. Officers saw both Arias and Saez run from the vehicle and watched Saez toss an item into a dumpster on Prentiss Street.  That item was later discovered to be a handgun that proved to be a ballistic match to shell casings found at the scene of Sierra’s murder.

Saez plead guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and received almost two years in a house of correction.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Galatis recommended that Arias, formerly of Roslindale, be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Sierra’s murder, plus an additional five years for unlawful possession of the firearm he used in the slaying. 

“I have the authority to sentence Mr. Arias to life in prison,” Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles said at Tuesday’s hearing. “That is the sentence. The issue of his parole eligibility will be determined by the Supreme Judicial Court.”

Giles also sentenced Arias to an additional term of three to five years in prison on the gun conviction, to run from and after his life term on the murder conviction.

“There was no mitigation in this case,” Conley said. “There is not one piece of information about this defendant or the craven murder he committed that warrants parole eligibility. We stand by our recommendation. Boston is a poorer place with Alex Sierra gone, and the person who took him from us should serve out the entirety of this sentence.”

During Tuesday's sentencing, Alex Sierra’s mother remembered his promise and potential. 

“My proudest moment as a mother has been collecting certificates of achievement, watching Alex get promoted to the fourth grade shortly after beginning third grade, and, as a teen, being a part of two MIT enrichment programs for talented students,” she said. “We all knew Alex was truly talented, with plans to move far beyond a college education. According to one of his MIT program professors, ‘Alex represented the best of what kids can achieve.’”

She described a smart, kind, and beloved young man who loved the Christmas season not just for the gifts he received, but also for the ones he would give to his parents and two older sisters.

“It was a blessing for me to see just how much time he had put into picking out gifts that fit each of our needs and to write thoughtful ‘I love you’ letters,” she said. “Sadly, the Christmas season is no longer what it used to be.”