Medford man convicted of 2013 murder of U.S. Army veteran in Stoneham

A Medford man was convicted of murder in the 2013 shooting death of a U.S. Army veteran who had served in Afghanistan.

Jessie Williams, 34, of Medford, was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder of Joseph Puopolo Jr., a Stoneham resident who was 27 when he was killed. Williams’ conviction was the result of a retrial.

In 2021, the Supreme Judicial Court overturned a previous conviction after finding that the judge improperly replaced a deliberating juror with an alternate during deliberations.

After the retrial, Williams was also found guilty of armed robbery, armed assault in a dwelling, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury, and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with Puopolo’s murder. 

At 12:19 a.m. on July 3, 2013, Stoneham police responded to reports of gunshots on Micah’s Pond Way in Stoneham. When officers arrived, they found Puopolo and another man suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest and stomach, respectively. Puopolo was taken to Lahey Clinic, where he was pronounced dead. The second man, his friend, survived.

According to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office, Williams and his cousin Eugene Tate went to the house under the guise of buying marijuana but planned to rob the men. Williams and Tate drew loaded handguns, and a struggle ensued that ended with both men firing their guns.

“Joseph Puopolo Jr. was the victim of a senseless, violent robbery that was driven by greed. The defendant in this case came to meet his victims armed and prepared to use violence if he met resistance. This case exemplifies our commitment to the families of victims even when a decade may have passed, and court rulings require us to revisit a case,” District Attorney Ryan said in a news release.

In 2015, Tate was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, armed assault in a dwelling, and unlawful possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Williams is due to be sentenced on March 25 at Middlesex Superior Court.