BOSTON — The 30-year-old man who fatally shot off-duty Revere Police Officer Daniel Talbot more than a decade ago pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter on Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court rather than face a new murder trial. He will be out of jail in three years.
Robert Iacoviello Jr., of Revere, who police described as a gang member, fired the shot that killed Talbot in the early morning hours of Sept. 29, 2007 during a confrontation between off-duty police officers and gang members behind Revere High School.
Iacoviello was convicted of second-degree murder by a Suffolk Superior Court jury in 2010, but that decision was reversed in 2016 by the Massachusetts Appeals Court, which found flaws in the trial jury judge’s instructions. Second-degree murder carries a life sentence with parole eligibility.
Iacoviello pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, rather than face a new trial, which was scheduled for April 30, for second-degree murder. With the plea deal, Iacoviello accepted a 14-year prison term, which includes time served. He has already served about 10 years and six months of the sentence.
Talbot’s former fiancee, Constance Bethell, who was with Talbot on the night of his killing and was present during the fatal conflict, gave a victim impact statement to the court prior to the sentencing.
“Pleading guilty just doesn’t seem enough,” said Bethell. “Dan was only 30 years old when he was murdered. He was just starting his life. The thought that Robert Iacoviello will be free and have more years on the outside of a jail cell than Dan had on this earth just makes me so angry.
Bethell recalled leaving the courtroom in February 2010 after hearing the guilty verdict for Iacoviello and being asked by a reporter if she was happy with the verdict.
“This question resonated with me,” she said. “It just seemed absurd that anyone could think that anything about this situation could make me happy. Happy just wasn’t a word I could use then or use now to describe how I feel about anything that has happened over the past 10 years.
“Robert’s guilty plea doesn’t make me happy. I will not walk out of here in a state of euphoria. I do not think another two years served is enough time. I know the decision to overturn Robert Iacoviello’s conviction was not just. What Robert’s plea does do for me is provide closure to an awful chapter of my life…I would do anything to bring Dan back, but we can’t and so here we all are.”
Iacoviello apologized to Talbot’s family when given the opportunity to address the court.
“I apologize for my actions,” Iacoviello said. “I wish it never happened. It shouldn’t have happened. I know a lot of people are going through pain. I know a lot of people are hurting. I know there’s nothing I can do right now. But whatever I can do, I will. I take responsibility for my actions.”
In court, Judge Jeffrey Locke asked Iacoviello why he was pleading guilty to manslaughter.
“Because I’m guilty,” he answered.
Iacoviello admitted to firing the fatal shot after another man, Derek Lodie, encountered Talbot, who was off-duty, out of uniform, and with a group of friends — three other off-duty Revere police officers and Bethell — on the Revere High School ball field, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Lodie argued with them and then called Iacoviello to the scene in the apparent belief that they were members of a rival gang, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said Iacoviello went to a friend’s house to get a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, and then went to the scene. Lodie re-engaged Talbot and lured him to the parking lot, where Iacoviello arrived, drew his weapon and fired, hitting Talbot in the head with a fatal shot.
Talbot drew his service weapon, but never fired. Another off-duty police officer involved fired his weapon after Iacoviello fired at Talbot, but didn’t hit anyone, prosecutors said.
Iacoviello and his group fled the scene after the incident, and proceeded to burn Iacoviello’s clothing and dismantle the gun that was used the shooting, which was later recovered in pieces from several storm drains in Revere, prosecutors said.
Lodie pleaded guilty as an accessory before the fact to Talbot’s homicide and was sentenced to 8 to 12 years in prison.
Iacoviello was convicted in 2010, but the Massachusetts Appeals Court overturned that conviction in 2016, ruling that jurors should have been instructed on self-defense and manslaughter, prosecutors said.
The Supreme Judicial Court later declined to review that decision despite arguments from prosecutors that Iacoviello’s actions were not ones of self-defense and his shot fired was not an errant one, but one aimed at Talbot’s head.
Prosecutors said in accepting Iacoviello’s plea, they weighed the Talbot family’s loss and egregious nature of Iacoviello’s actions against the challenges of re-trying the case 11 years later, with the possibility of conviction on a lesser charge or even acquittal.
Jonathan Shapiro, Iacoviello’s defense attorney, said both parties agreed to the plea because the defense would risk a murder verdict with a new trial and the Commonwealth would risk a jury finding Iacoviello not guilty, which brought about the compromise.
“I think that the agreement and the plea is fair and just under all of the circumstances and hopefully will bring what was a very tragic situation to an end,” Shapiro said.
“I think what happened in court is that he (Iacoviello) admitted to being guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which means that he fired the shot that resulted in the death of Mr. Talbot but because it’s voluntary manslaughter, it means that the shot was fired without malice and on the basis of reasonable provocation.”
But for Bethell, her life has been forever changed from the incident. Since that night, she’s married her husband and given birth to three children, but life after her fiancee’s murder was not easy. She’s struggled emotionally, mentally and financially, putting on an outward strength, while inside she was a mess. She’s struggled with overwhelming anxiety and loud noises send her to a place of anger, fear and regret, one she hates to be in, Bethell said.
“Dan was to me and so many others an amazing individual,” she said. “During his five years on the police force, he accomplished so much and affected so many people’s lives. He demanded respect in uniform, but yet was compassionate and understanding. He was passionate and driven.
“Dan had such an impact on those around him that after his death, the Revere Police Department dedicated their community room to Dan, a fundraiser to help kids with cancer was held in his name, and three babies were named after Dan, an honor that will go on for lifetimes. I can’t think of a better testament to who Dan was.”