Crime
Chukwunonso Uzeoma-Eze was arraigned in Rhode Island on Monday in the fatal stabbing of a fellow UMass Dartmouth student.
The 19-year-old UMass Dartmouth student accused of stabbing and killing a member of the university’s football team and injuring another outside of a Providence club plans to argue he acted in self-defense, his lawyer told Boston.com.
Chukwunonso Uzeoma-Eze, of Hyde Park, was arraigned in Rhode Island’s 6th Division District Court on Monday. No plea was entered to the first-degree murder of 18-year-old Marvins Antoine and the felony assault of 19-year-old Kensley Macean, court records show.
Judge Stephan M. Isherwood held Uzeoma-Eze without bail during the Monday hearing.
Noah Kilroy, an attorney who represents Uzeoma-Eze, told Boston.com the case will center on self-defense.
“I have video of him backing up, stating, ‘Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!’” Kilroy said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “And he was surrounded by four football players, and then he acted in self defense.”
Kilroy declined to comment further out of respect for the victim’s families.
Massachusetts court records note there are variations in the spelling of Uzeoma-Eze’s name. Providence police and Rhode Island courts report his name to be spelled “Chukuwnonso Uzoma Eze.”
Uzeoma-Eze’s immigration status
Uzeoma-Eze, who is originally from Nigeria, entered the United States on a B-2 visitor visa in March 2015, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is currently on an approved deferred action, which is set to expire in October 2027, according to ICE.
He previously obtained two approved extensions of the nonimmigrant status in February and June of 2016, as well as a deferred action in September 2022, according to ICE.
Gov. Maura Healey said Antoine’s death was “absolutely heartbreaking” in an interview recorded by WPRI 12.
“The perpetrator needs to be held accountable to the full extent of the law,” Healey said in the interview. “If he committed a violent crime, he should be deported.”
The events of Sept. 19
The stabbing occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 in the parking lot of a Wendy’s located along Charles St. in Providence after an altercation outside the nightclub across the street, police said.
Antoine, a freshman running back, and Macean, a freshman defensive back, were at the Mezzo Lounge with other members of the UMass Dartmouth football team following a game against Framingham State University, police said.
The victims got into an altercation with a woman leaving the venue, which often hosts 18+ events. Uzeoma-Eze knew the woman and the altercation “escalated,” police said.
Antoine was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with stab wounds to the chest, and he was pronounced dead, police said. Macean sustained “non-life-threatening” injuries to the head and neck.
Stacie Antoine, Marvins’ sister, wrote to Boston.com that he was her “best friend” and the “nicest person ever.”
“He was always there for me,” Stacie wrote. “If he saw [you] sad, he would try to make [you] smile. He really was the kindest person ever.”
UMass Dartmouth honored Antoine with a vigil on Sept. 23.
“Our hearts are with his friends, family and the entire UMass Dartmouth community,” the university wrote in a post.
Uzeoma-Eze arrested in Mass.
Providence police tracked Uzeoma-Eze’s vehicle in and out of the city using Flock cameras, police said. UMass Dartmouth police arrested Uzeoma-Eze on Saturday morning and charged him with being a fugitive from justice.
A police report filed in New Bedford District Court said Uzeoma-Eze told police he had previously attempted suicide and asked, “Can you just shoot me?”
Jay Odunukwe, an attorney who represented Uzeoma-Eze in Massachusetts, previously told Boston.com that the defendant is involved in the community and is a great student. Uzeoma-Eze, who majors in mechanical engineering, was very excited to start school, Odunukwe said.
“It’s totally something that is out of the blue,” Odunukwe said. “There is nothing in his background that can correspond to the allegations against him.”
Odunukwe added that several businesses in the area have cameras that captured the night’s events.
Providence venue shut down for a month
The Providence Board of Licenses ordered the Mezzo Lounge to shut down for one month in a unanimous vote during a Sept. 24 meeting.
The one-month closure followed a 72-hour shutdown in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing. The board also imposed a penalty banning 18+ events, ticketed events, and lines forming outside of the venue, according to the meeting minutes.
A letter sent to the board by City Councilman Justin Roias, who represents the North End, detailed nearly two dozen violations by the Mezzo Lounge throughout its history, including disturbances, noise, underage drinking, and fights.
“Another temporary closure will not protect the neighborhood or repair the harm that has already been done,” Roias wrote in the letter. “The City should not wait for another family to lose a child before deciding that enough is enough.”
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