Cody Perry Shooting Case: Trial, Verdict, and Sentence

The Cody Perry shooting case ended in March 2025 with Perry, a 36-year-old Rochester, Massachusetts man, convicted of voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury for the April 7, 2023 fatal shooting of Justin Doberck, his sister’s boyfriend. A Plymouth County Superior Court jury returned the verdict on March 12, 2025, and Perry was sentenced two days later to eight to ten years in state prison.¹²

What Happened the Night of the Shooting

On the evening of April 7, 2023, Perry, his sister Haley Perry, and Doberck were together at a bonfire in the woods behind a property at 259 New Bedford Road in Rochester. Doberck, 41, of Mattapoisett, had been dating Haley Perry for three to four years and was also a childhood friend of Cody Perry’s.²³

A disagreement broke out among the three. According to Perry’s account to police, Doberck made threats and directed vulgar comments at him and his sister. Perry left the bonfire, went into the home, and retrieved a firearm from a safe. He told police Doberck then tackled him and the gun discharged: “When I fell, I shot.”⁴ Investigators recovered a single empty shell casing at the scene.

Rochester police and Massachusetts State Police received reports of the shooting shortly before 9:35 p.m. Doberck had suffered a single gunshot wound and was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where he was pronounced dead.⁵² Perry stayed at the scene, surrendered his firearm to officers, and was arrested without incident.¹ He was held without bail at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility from his arrest through trial.

Two Very Different Accounts at Trial

Defense attorney Dan Pond argued the shooting was accidental and that Doberck was the primary aggressor. The defense pointed to what it described as Doberck’s history of violence and abuse toward Haley Perry and told the jury Doberck had been making violent threats and vulgar remarks that evening. Perry maintained he retrieved the firearm only for safety and that it went off when Doberck tackled him.⁴

Assistant District Attorneys Daniel Higgins and Jessica Croker, prosecuting for Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, offered a different picture. Croker told the court that most witnesses interviewed during the grand jury process agreed Doberck “had a bark but not a bite,” and that Haley Perry was the only witness who did not share that characterization. The prosecution described Doberck as being in good spirits that night and his comments as insensitive rather than threatening.⁴⁶

The Verdict and the Sentence

The jury returned its verdict on March 12, 2025, convicting Perry of voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury. Both charges arose from the single shooting; the manslaughter conviction rather than first-degree murder meant the jury concluded the killing occurred in the heat of passion or under provocation rather than with premeditation.²⁷

On March 14, 2025, Perry received a sentence of eight to ten years in state prison. That was well short of what the Commonwealth had asked for. Prosecutors sought 18 to 20 years.¹

How Massachusetts Law Shaped the Outcome

Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13, manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in state prison.⁸ Voluntary manslaughter in Massachusetts is defined as an unlawful, intentional killing committed without malice aforethought, typically during a sudden heat of passion or under adequate provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control. Courts recognize mitigating factors such as sudden combat, excessive force in self-defense, and reasonable provocation. If a defendant had time to cool off between the provoking event and the killing, the charge generally escalates to murder.

The Massachusetts Sentencing Guidelines classify voluntary manslaughter as a Level 8 offense. For a defendant with no significant criminal history, the guidelines suggest a maximum sentence in the range of 96 to 144 months (eight to twelve years), with the minimum sentence calculated at two-thirds of the maximum.⁹ Perry’s eight-to-ten-year sentence sits at the lower end of that range.

Appeal Status

As of the most recent reporting in April 2025, no appeal filings or post-conviction developments in Perry’s case had been publicly reported.⁴

1
Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Rochester Man Sent to State Prison for Fatal Shooting
2
MassLive. Rochester Man Sentenced for Fatally Shooting Sister’s Boyfriend
3
The Week Today – Sippican. Argument Leads to Fatal Shooting of Mattapoisett Man
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The Week Today – Sippican. Rochester Man Sentenced to State Prison After Fatal Shooting of Sister’s Boyfriend
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WCVB. Deadly Shooting on New Bedford Road in Rochester, Massachusetts
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The Week Today – Sippican. Rochester Shooter Continues to Be Held Without Bail
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WBSM. Rochester Man Sentenced for Homicide of Mattapoisett Man
8
General Court of Massachusetts. General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13 – Manslaughter
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Massachusetts Government. Sentencing Guidelines Grid