Victor Arrington was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole after being convicted for a 2015 Dorchester home invasion and killing. James Boyd, who pleaded guilty to related charges, was sentenced to probation that begins after he completes concurre
The night began with a plan to assault and rob a man on Harvard Street in Dorchester. It ended with a 37-year-old ironworker dead at the scene, his fiancée left to fight her way to safety, and a family spending years living with the aftermath.
This week, the consequences caught up with two of the men involved.
Victor Arrington. 40. was found guilty on June 25 of first-degree murder. home invasion. armed assault with intent to murder. unlawful possession of a firearm. and two counts of kidnapping. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole for the murder charge. along with 42 to 45 additional years for the kidnapping. assault. and possession charges. according to court records.
James Boyd, 33, pleaded guilty Wednesday to home invasion, assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of kidnapping. He was sentenced to five years of probation for home invasion. nine to 10 years each for the kidnapping charges. and four to five years for the assault charge. according to court filings.
Boyd’s prison time effectively ended that same day because his sentences were ordered to run concurrently. With Boyd having been in prison since his 2016 arrest, records show he has already served 10 years, meaning he will be released and begin his probation term.
The case traces back to March 31. 2015. when Arrington. Boyd. and a third man planned to assault and rob a man who lived on Harvard Street in Dorchester. prosecutors said in a press release. The group went to the wrong home and broke into the apartment of Richard Long. a 37-year-old ironworker with no connection to the intended target.
Once inside, the intruders bound Long and his fiancée with electrical cords. When they realized they were in the wrong apartment, they decided to kill the couple to cover their tracks. Prosecutors said the men stabbed Long. shot both Long and his fiancée in the head. poured bleach on them. then lit the kitchen on fire and fled.
Long died at the scene. His fiancée regained consciousness and escaped to a neighbor’s home for help.
In a victim impact statement read at Arrington’s sentencing by one of Long’s sisters. Long’s fiancée described what she said was the incident’s lasting toll. “What happened that day changed every part of my life and devastated me to my core. Even now. years later. I continue to experience nightmares and moments where I relive the fear. helplessness. and terror of what happened. ” the statement reads. “Home was once the place where I felt safest, but that sense of security was taken from me. Every day. I am fearful of being alone in my home and. at times. even fearful of being there with my family.”.
Long’s children also spoke to the court.
His infant son was in the bedroom when the intruders broke in, and his fiancée rescued him before escaping. The son is now 12 years old. and prosecutors said he gave an impact statement read by the lead prosecutor on the case. “I was there as a baby the day my parents’ lives were ruined and mine was almost taken before I even made my own mark on the world. This traumatic event left me with significant breathing difficulties and other chronic health issues. a constant and painful reminder of a past I barely remembered but that impacted my present. ” the statement reads. “Together. these experiences — the loss of my father and the enduring physical consequences of the fire — created a unique and challenging path through life. My childhood was marked by a relentless effort to overcome these intertwined burdens.”.
Long’s oldest son, Richard Long Jr., was 12 years old when he lost his father, according to prosecutors. During Tuesday’s sentencing, he described carrying on Long’s name as both a privilege and a daily wound. He said it was “one of the greatest honors of my life” and also “a daily reminder of the man who was taken from me.”.
Long’s statement continued: “As the oldest son. I have often thought about the life we should have had. ” he said. “I wonder what advice my father would have given me. what lessons he would have taught me. what conversations we would have shared as I became a man. Those questions will never be answered because one person’s decision permanently changed the future of an entire family.”.
Prosecutors also said a key part of their case against Arrington relied on location information stored in the Frequent Location History feature on his iPhone. After an extensive evidentiary hearing. the court allowed the Commonwealth to present that digital evidence to the jury despite the defendant’s objection. the DA said.
Arrington’s first trial ended in a mistrial in May 2024 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Prosecutors said the third intruder involved with Arrington and Boyd was identified, but never charged because he was killed in an unrelated homicide in April 2015.
Neither of Arrington’s attorneys, Michelle Menken and Edward Parker, responded to a request for comment Wednesday night. Boyd’s attorney, Nicholas Howie, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Dorchester home invasion murder sentencing Victor Arrington James Boyd Richard Long life without parole probation iPhone location data