Wareham Man’s Manslaughter Conviction Upheld on Appeal

BROCKTON (WBSM) — A Wareham man convicted of stabbing a person to death inside of a convenience store in the town in 2014 had his conviction affirmed by the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently.

According to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz, the conviction of Demetrius Goshen, now 27, was upheld and he was denied a new trial. However, the court did allow Goshen’s motion for a new sentencing hearing.

The conviction relates to the October 14, 2014 stabbing death of Dwayne Borges, 29, of Wareham. Police responded to a 911 call for a report of a stabbing at the Cumberland Farms on Main Street and arrived to find Borges suffering from eight stab wounds. He was taken to Tobey Hospital across the street and then medflighted to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

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The manager and a clerk that was working the register at the time provided police with descriptions of four men, and the clerk reported seeing the men fighting with Borges prior to the stabbing. Store surveillance video of the attack helped police locate the suspects a short distance away.

At trial, the jury heard evidence that Goshen, then 18, had been armed with a knife when he entered the store, and that same knife was found in a bush near the store with Borges’ blood on the blade.

On March 17, 2016, a jury convicted Goshen on one count of involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to serve 18 to 20 years in state prison.

Goshen appealed his conviction to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and filed a motion for new trial, or in the alternative, new sentencing hearing, based primarily on ineffective assistance of counsel.