Man gets 12-15 years in prison for fatal shooting at Brockton Super 8 Motel

Amelia Stern, The Enterprise

BROCKTON — A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge for his role in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old Brockton man at the Super 8 Motel after an an alleged drug deal in 2020, prosecutors said.

On Monday, Dvante Bly-Mollenthiel, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and firearm charges for his role in Christopher Lascase's murder and was sentenced to 12-15 years in state prison, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced in a written statement.

On Oct. 23, 2020, Brockton police responded to reports of a shooting at the Super 8 Motel, located at 385 Westgate Drive in Brockton, and found Lascase suffering from a gunshot wound in one of the motel’s second-floor rooms.

Brockton police investigate at the scene of a fatal shooting at the Super 8 Motel on Westgate Drive on Oct. 23, 2020.
Brockton police investigate at the scene of a fatal shooting at the Super 8 Motel on Westgate Drive on Oct. 23, 2020.

Lascase was transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Bly-Mollenthiel, then 22, was arrested two days later.

Suspect arrested 22-year-old arrested in Brockton Super 8 Motel murder

During his arraignment, prosecutors said Bly-Mollenthiel was identified as the gunman by a police officer who reviewed surveillance video footage from the scene.

Defense attorney Joseph Krowski with his client DíVante Bly-Mollenthiel, 22, of Brockton, was arraigned in Brockton District Court, charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting that took place on Friday in a second floor room at the Super 8 Motel on Westgate Drive, police said. The shooting on Friday night took the life of Christopher Lascase, 20, of Brockton.

"An officer was able to review video surveillance and identity the gunman before the court in that video surveillance,” Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Burke said at the time. “Video surveillance does show the defendant holding what appears to be a handgun in his hand.”

Witnesses also pointed to Bly-Mollenthiel as the shooter after reviewing a photo array of potential suspects, Burke said.

Bly-Mollenthiel was held without bail after pleading not guilty during his arraignment.

Arraignment Accused of shooting victim in chest, Brockton Super 8 hotel murder suspect held without bail

A second suspect, Valdir Rodrigues, 39, of Weymouth, who police say was present for the shooting, was arrested a few hours after Bly-Mollenthiel. He was also held without bail after pleading not guilty during his arraignment.

Second suspect arrested Second man charged with murder in Brockton hotel shooting

Police revealed that Rodrigues allegedly went with Bly-Mollenthiel to buy drugs from Lascase, the statement said. It is unclear exactly what prompted the shooting.

Rodrigues' case is still pending. He is due in court on March 7 for a status hearing.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton Super 8 Motel murder: Man pleads guilty, gets prison

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