Report from Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker’s Office – A Haverhill man was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday for a fatal shooting outside a Lawrence nightclub on Easter Sunday in 2017
A jury sitting in Salem Superior Court found Luis Rodriguez, 30, guilty of murder with deliberate premeditation; armed assault with intent to murder; assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon; and carrying a firearm without a license.
Judge Thomas Drechsler sent sentencing for 10 a.m. on May 23 but Rodriguez faces a mandatory minimum of life without the possibility of parole on the first-degree murder conviction.
He was convicted of killing Aracelys Valdez Deleon, 40, of Lowell.
Testimony presented at the trial showed Rodriguez shot and killed her and shot and seriously wounded a man, Jazmin Patrocino, on April 16, 2017, after being denied entry to La Cava nightclub because he was carrying a firearm.
Rodriguez then walked across the street and opened fire. He was arrested four days later by a deputy sheriff in Texas while carrying a false identification and bus tickets to Phoenix and Los Angeles.
“Aracelys Valdez Deleon was a beloved mother, daughter and friend. I’m proud of the team effort that tracked down this defendant and brought him to justice,” Tucker said.
Rodriguez was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys A.J. Camelio and Katie Fennel Kelly, with assistance from Assistant District Attorney David O’Sullivan. Rodriguez was represented by attorneys Hank Brennan and Matthew Berquist of Boston.
The case was investigated by the Essex County District Attorney’s State Police Detective Unit and detectives from the Lawrence Police Department, with special assistance from Trooper Brendan Carnes; Lawrence Police Officers Mike Montecalvo and Carl Farrington and Sgt. Shawn Quaglietta; and Victim Witness Advocate Jocelyn Pichardo.
