Dorchester man arrested after allegedly shooting, killing gas station employee

An arrest was made after a fatal late-night shooting in Dorchester, police say.

Officers responded to the sound of shots fired while they were on patrol near the Fabian Gas Station 
on Washington Street around 11:35 p.m. Saturday night.

Police say they found a man in his early 60's suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, who was transported to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

The victim has been identified as 68-year-old Jose Luis Phinn-Williams.

"It's devastating," said Mayra Cardona, Phinn-William's sister. "Devastating. It's just so sad."

An investigation showed a man allegedly approached the Phinn-William, who was working at the gas station, and shot him during an apparent attempted robbery.

"He would do anything to help anybody, and this was a senseless, senseless murder just to get a couple of dollars and it's not fair," said Rosa Phinn-Williams, one of the victim's sisters.

Phinn-Williams' sisters learned of his passing from the hospital on Sunday morning, the day of what should have been his 69th birthday.

"They were really sorry, they were trying to save him but but the bullet went through his heart there was nothing they could do," said Rosa Phinn-Williams.

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After a detailed suspect description was given out, officers found 21-year-old Dorchester native Kevin Williams and placed him into custody after identifying him. (Editor's note: All charges against Kevin Williams were dropped by prosecutors on Nov. 16, 2018. Another man was arrested on murder charges on April 8, 2019).

Williams will be arraigned in Dorchester District Court on charges of assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and attempted robbery.

This wasn't the first time Phinn-Williams was a victim of a crime at the Fabian Gas station. A couple of years ago, he was robbed on Halloween night and didn't return to work for the next six months. His sister told him to never go back to the job, but he did.

Phinn-Williams worked at the gas station for about 10 years.

His sisters say they are now are struggling with how they're going to tell their mother about Phinn-Williams' passing.

"She's 88, we don't know how she's going to deal with something like this," said Cardona. "We just don't know what to do. We're kind of lost."

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