BOSTON, November 13, 2024 – Suffolk County Judge Mary Ames today sentenced ZONTRE MACK, 21, of Canton to life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years for the shooting death of 15-year-old Curtis Ashford Jr. on July 27, 2022 in Dorchester.
A jury last month convicted Mack of the murder and also of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm. Ames sentenced Mack to a total of 6 ½ to 7 ½ years on those charges, to be served concurrently with the murder sentence.
Mack was 18 at the time of the murder. Under a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that went into effect this year, anyone convicted of first-degree murder committed below the age of 21 can receive a maximum of 30 years in prison before parole eligibility. Defendants convicted of first-degree murder committed 21 or older receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.
Dominick Gavin, 27, of Boston, was also charged in connection to the shooting. Gavin pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact on August 20. Ames sentenced Gavin to three to four years in state prison.
Surveillance video and witness accounts showed Mack and Gavin arriving in the Ellington Street area at about 7:30 p.m. on July 27, 2022 in a vehicle driven by Gavin. Mack, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, then left the vehicle and fired multiple shots at a group of individuals, including Curtis Ashford Jr., gathered on Ellington Street. The group fled upon hearing the shots. Ashford was hit while trying to get away. Boston police located the vehicle driven by Gavin and gathered evidence, including DNA and fingerprints matched to Mack.
In a victim impact statement, Ashford’s aunt said that her brother and Ashford’s father, Curtis Ashford Sr., “was also taken from us 16 years ago from someone just like you. Someone who didn’t know him, someone who had no regard for the lives of others and what their actions would do to the families of the ones they hurt.”
District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting, called the death of a 15-year-old at the hands of an 18-year-old “a tragedy upon a tragedy.”
“Curtis Ashford’s family will mourn his loss forever and Zontre Mack will spend a large portion of his adult life away from his family, all because of a quick and deadly decision to pull the trigger on an illegal gun. There is nothing but tragedy and sadness in such a scenario,” Hayden said.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
