Overview

• Dean Kapsalis, a white driver, was convicted of second-degree murder and civil rights violations for deliberately running over Henry Tapia, a Black and Latino man, with his pickup truck after shouting a racial slur at him during an argument in Belmont, Massachusetts.
• Tapia, a 34-year-old father of three, was killed in the hit-and-run crash on Upland Road in 2021.
• Kapsalis argued at trial that Tapia's death was an accident, but he was found guilty of second-degree murder, violation of constitutional rights, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and leaving the scene of an accident.
• Kapsalis faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 15 years for the murder conviction.
• The racially motivated attack and Kapsalis's slur and actions were caught on video, leading to the hate crime charges and convictions.