By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
A North Attleborough man was sentenced Monday, April 6, to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years for the 2024 fatal shooting of a Boston man, according to a press release from Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
A Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted Widmaer Lapaix, 29, of second-degree murder in the death of Maceo Martin, 41, of Boston, the district attorney’s office said. Lapaix was convicted April 3 following a nine-day trial, court documents show.
According to the press release, the shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2024, outside an apartment building at 17 Hammond St. in Boston, where Martin’s ex-wife lived with their children.
The district attorney’s office said Martin was outside the building ringing the doorbell and shouting while his ex-wife was inside with their children and Lapaix. As she attempted to get Martin to leave from the building’s entryway, Lapaix came downstairs armed with a Kel-Tec rifle that he legally owned and fired a single shot through a window.
Martin was struck in the chest and taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
Family members described Martin, a father of two, as someone known for his humor and warmth, according to statements shared in the release.
“To know Maceo was to know his infectious laugh,” one of his sisters said during the sentencing hearing. Another said his “smile, his joyful spirit — those are the memories that remain.”
Lapaix briefly addressed the court prior to sentencing, apologizing to both Martin’s family and his own, according to the district attorney’s office.
Hayden called the shooting “a tragic outcome of quick and terrible decision-making by a person holding a gun.”
“There were other ways this situation could and should have been handled, but those other ways were left unexplored,” Hayden said. “One life was ended and another dramatically altered as a result.”