Alfonso Rivas, 23, was shot dead during a robbery in 2012. Today, his killers were found guilty of first-degree murder.

BOSTON, April 30, 2014—Two Boston men were convicted of first-degree murder today for the shooting death of 23-year-old Alfonso Rivas during a robbery, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

After about three days of deliberations, a Suffolk Superior Court jury today found REGINALD HOLLEY (D.O.B. 11/22/89) of Dorchester and OASIS PRITCHETT (D.O.B. 10/5/90) of Roxbury guilty of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with Rivas’ Oct. 17, 2012, murder in a Lyndhurst Street apartment.  Both men face the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder of life in prison without the possibility of parole when they are sentenced tomorrow by Judge Patrick Brady.

Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Lundgren and Assistant District Attorney Nicole Rimar introduced evidence and testimony during the two-week trial to prove that Holley and Pritchett planned to rob Rivas of a quantity of marijuana.

Lundgren and Rimar proved that Holley arranged the meeting, during which Rivas believed the two men would merely purchase marijuana.  Surveillance images introduced at trial showed the two defendants as they walked from Holley’s home to 14 Lyndhurst St., where Rivas lived.  Additional images showed Holley speaking on a cell phone just before the two entered the building – at the same time, cell phone records showed, that Rivas received a final phone call.

Three minutes later, the same security camera captured Holley and Pritchett as they ran from the building, having shot Rivas and taken marijuana and an iPhone.  Rivas had been shot once in the face, causing a mortal injury.

Surveillance images and additional evidence showed that the men fled to the Shawmut MBTA station and took the Red Line to Ashmont.  Once there, they boarded a #23 bus, which took them directly past the murder scene as they returned to Holley’s home.

Rivas was transported to Boston Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

“This was a case of two men acting with one purpose,” Conley said. “They planned the robbery together, travelled to the scene together, and fled together when Mr. Rivas lay dying. Regardless of who fired the fatal shot, both are equally responsible for Mr. Rivas’ death. I hope this result offers some satisfaction to his loved ones that the jury saw his death for exactly what it was – first-degree murder.”

Rivas’ homicide is one of at least three during 2012 that Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors have linked to marijuana robberies. The Jan. 14, 2012, shooting death of Christopher Pichardo on Trull Street in Dorchester led to a second-degree murder conviction for ROBINSON TEJEDA (D.O.B. 10/27/88) of Lynn after a trial earlier this year; the Nov. 19, 2012, shooting death of Leroy Cooper in Brighton is pending in Suffolk Superior Court.

Katherine Moran and Timothy Munzert were the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocates in this case.  Pritchett is represented by attorney Jonathan Shapiro and Holley by Aviva Jeruchim.  They will return to court tomorrow for sentencing at 9:00 a.m.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.