HUDSON, MASS. (WHDH) - A man from Hudson was convicted Monday on charges linked to a deadly road rage incident in 2021 that prosecutors said was motivated by race, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Prosecutors said Dean Kapsalis had been in a “verbal altercation” in the roadway with 35-year-old Henry Tapia in January of 2021.
“That argument wound down but as Mr. Tapia began to walk back toward his car, Mr. Kapsalis hurled a racial slur at him and then got into his Dodge Dakota pickup truck and drove it at Mr. Tapia, striking him and dragging him a short distance before Mr. Kapsalis fled the scene,” the DA’s office said.
In previous comments, Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan and Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac said Tapia died at Massachusetts General Hospital after the incident.
Tapia, a father of three, was visiting Belmont at the time. His death sparked outrage and multiple protests.
The DA’s office said Kapsalis turned himself in to police, adding that his defense argued Tapia’s death was an accident.
“The murder of Henry Tapia is a senseless tragedy fueled by hate and anger,” Ryan said in a statement this week. “The fact that some of the last words Henry Tapia heard were a horrific racial insult meant to intimidate and threaten him based on the color of his skin is something we cannot tolerate.”
“What is significant about today’s verdict is that when we have incidents in Middlesex County motivated by bigotry and racism, that hatred will not be treated as a background fact,” Ryan continued. “It will be charged and prosecuted separately.”
MacIsaac also issued a new statement on Monday after the DA’s announcement of Kapsalis’ conviction on charges including murder in the second degree and violation of constitutional rights with bodily injury.
“It has taken two and a half years for this case to proceed through our justice system, but justice has been served,” MacIsaac said.
“As we sat in the courtroom, members of the BPD watched as the Tapia family filled the rows in front of us,” he continued. “As a parent, my heart went out to them. This hate crime will forever be a part of Belmont’s history, but the courageous witnesses who came forward demonstrated that hate will not be tolerated here. With hard work and cooperation, hate will never define the residents of Belmont.”
Kapsalis is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27.
“Although nothing that happens in Court can return Mr. Tapia to his grieving family, today’s convictions send a strong signal that those who commit hate fueled violence in this county will be held fully accountable,” Ryan said.
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