DA: South Boston man found guilty of murder in 2023 Dorchester shooting

A South Boston man has been found guilty of murder in connection with a fight that escalated to fatal gunfire at a Dorchester home in 2023, making him the third person convicted in the case, prosecutors said.

Patrick Harland, 32, was convicted Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court of first-degree murder, witness intimidation, accessory before the fact, and possession of a firearm, the Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a statement. 

Harland is scheduled to be sentenced Friday morning, court records show.  

The case stems from the Dec. 30, 2023 shooting of Curtis Effee, 41, of Boston, at a home at 417 Geneva Ave. Boston police responded shortly before 1 a.m. to a report of a person shot, prosecutors said. 

Earlier that evening, Harland and his then-girlfriend had gotten into a verbal dispute with Effee about the woman’s use of a vehicle, the DA’s office said. 

Around 12:45 a.m., Harland sent a Facebook message to his girlfriend’s nephew, Dasahn Crowder, 23, of Quincy. Crowder then went to the Geneva Avenue home. Harland allegedly told people at the house that Crowder was coming with a gun, according to the DA’s office. 

Crowder arrived with Tyreese Robinson, 21, of Randolph, and a fight broke out. Several witnesses were present, including a 10-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl, per court documents. 

During the fight, Harland pulled out a knife and pointed it at Effee, prosecutors said. Crowder then pulled out a firearm and fired toward Effee, after which Robinson fired in the same direction, according to Hayden’s office. 

Effee was struck and died at the scene. Prosecutors did not identify which of the two gunmen fired the fatal shot. 

Crowder and Robinson fled in a car and were arrested together the following day, prosecutors said. 

The two men pleaded guilty June 23 to manslaughter, unlawful gun possession, and six counts of armed assault with intent to murder. They were each sentenced to up to 30 years in state prison, Hayden’s office said. 

Harland fled the scene on foot after the shooting and was arrested March 25, 2024. He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment in 2024, court records show. 

“This is a tragic example of a dispute leading to a horrible act of violence that could have been handled differently and not led to one person being shot dead and three others facing lengthy prison sentences,” Hayden said. 

The case also included allegations that Harland threatened his former girlfriend after she ended their relationship following the homicide. 

Prosecutors said Harland sent her multiple messages threatening her, her children, and her mother. In some messages, he allegedly threatened to report his ex-girlfriend as a missing person and file police reports against her children, according to court documents. 

Harland also allegedly threatened to make reports against her mother “so that her mother would be evicted from her apartment,” documents state. 

Prosecutors said Harland later followed through by posting a fake missing-person bulletin on Facebook that falsely claimed his former girlfriend was missing. The post publicly identified her and the names and ages of her children, who are minors, and included the address of her workplace, per court documents. 

“The elevation of this situation by rash and poor decision-making caused extraordinary harm to the people involved and to the entire community,” Hayden said.

During Crowder and Robinson’s sentencing, Effee’s mother testified that she misses her son “every day,” The Boston Globe reported. 

“I am still in a lot of pain,” Luvenia Effee said. “He had his faults, but I don’t think he should have died that way.”