A young woman who was facing the possibility of a lifetime behind bars was sentenced last week to seven to eight years in state prison after strong, zealous advocacy from an interdivisional team of Committee for Public Counsel Service attorneys, social service advocates and investigators
Graciela Paulino, 22, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, carrying a firearm without a license and carrying a loaded firearm on Oct. 23. She was originally charged with murder for the fatal 2018 road rage shooting of Marc Devoe, 34.
After CPCS attorneys built a case that Paulino was acting in self-defense, jurors rejected the murder charge.
Prosecutors requested that Paulino be sentenced to between 18 and 20 years in state prison for one count of voluntary manslaughter, 18 years in a house of correction for possessing a firearm and five years of probation for possessing a loaded firearm.
But Judge Bruce Henry sentenced Paulino to seven to eight years in state prison, 18 months in a house of correction, and five years of probation. The terms of probation include maintaining employment or full-time schooling, receiving treatment for anger management, and receiving a mental health evaluation and complying with any recommendations.
Carolyn McGowan, Paulino’s lead trial attorney and attorney in charge of the Somerville Superior Court Office, lauded the efforts of CPCS attorneys and investigators who helped defend Paulino’s rights.
“Raquel Vargas Calderon of (the Youth Advocacy Division) was instrumental in the sentencing advocacy as well as the whole trial and client support process,” McGowan said. “She wrote an amazingly thorough and meaningful aid in sentencing report.”
McGowan added that Julie Buszuwski “was instrumental in all things trial strategy,” and that the efforts Somerville office investigators Rob Selevitch and Jennifer Kovacs were “outstanding and led to the discovery of two critical witnesses.”
She also credited the Murder Group led by Denise Regan “for great consulting and case crunching all along the way.”
Randy Gioia, deputy chief counsel for CPCS’s Public Defender Division, said the “excellent result” highlights the importance of different divisions working together toward a common goal.