A Plymouth County grand jury has indicted 33-year-old Fairhaven resident Nicholas Botella on a charge of murder in the fatal June 30 shooting of his former neighbor, 57-year-old James Rizza, on Harbor Road in Mattapoisett. Botella also faces multiple weapons counts tied to the shooting and the high-speed police chase that followed it into neighboring Marion.
District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced the indictment, which moves the case from Wareham District Court to Brockton Superior Court, according to 1420 WBSM. Botella is now indicted on one count of murder, two counts of carrying a loaded firearm without a license, one count of carrying a loaded firearm, one count of possession of ammunition without an FID card, and one count of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, per the same report. Assistant District Attorney James Duffy has been assigned to lead the Commonwealth's prosecution in Brockton Superior Court, as reported by the Fall River Reporter.
A Quiet Driveway, a Deadly Afternoon
Massachusetts State Police received reports of a shooting at a residence on Harbor Road on June 30, and Mattapoisett Police found Rizza severely injured in the driveway, according to the WBSM report. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at about 3:40 p.m. that day. Rizza was a Newton resident who spent summer seasons with his family at the Harbor Road home, and his family's seasonal ties to the South Coast community were detailed in his obituary on Legacy.com.
A witness reported seeing a man with a red motor vehicle connected to the incident, and officers attempted to stop a vehicle matching that description, the station's report states. The driver led police on a chase that ended when Mattapoisett cruisers stopped the vehicle in Marion, where officers arrested Botella. The suspect vehicle was a red 2021 Toyota Corolla, and it carried an uncharged female passenger who was taken to police headquarters for questioning, per the Wanderer.
Box-In Maneuver Ends Chase at Town Line
The pursuit stretched eastward along Route 6 from Mattapoisett into Marion before it ended near Front Street, where Mattapoisett police cruisers executed a physical box-in maneuver to safely stop Botella's car, according to New Bedford Guide. Law enforcement intercepted the Corolla along Route 6 shortly after 3 p.m., per the Wanderer's account of the chase.
At his initial July 1 arraignment in Wareham District Court, Botella faced 11 total charges, including trespass, failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, speeding, and marked lanes violations, according to the Shrewsbury Post. Botella pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered held without bail, per the WBSM report.
A Dispute Between Former Neighbors
Prosecutors said Botella had lived next door to Rizza on Harbor Road about a year before the shooting and had been aggressive toward him during a dispute, according to the WBSM account. New Bedford Guide's reporting added that local municipal property records showed Botella did not own real estate in Mattapoisett at the time of the shooting, despite having once lived beside Rizza. The exact origin and history of that earlier dispute has not been detailed publicly.
The case has stunned a town where violence like this is almost unheard of. The shooting marked only the third homicide recorded in Mattapoisett since 1988, according to Sippican Week. Federal crime statistics cited by Niche place Mattapoisett's violent crime rate at roughly 58 per 100,000 residents, far below the national average of more than 280 per 100,000, in a town of about 6,600 people.
Community Rallies Around Rizza's Family
Rizza's family requested memorial donations be directed to the Newton South Athletics Booster Club or the Mattapoisett Police Department, per his obituary. A GoFundMe fundraiser established for his family described him as a devoted husband and father of two whose sudden death prompted an outpouring of local support, as the Fall River Reporter noted. Neighbors and friends organized that support effort in the days following the June 30 shooting.
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 1, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Law Offices of Kensley Barrett. Botella is scheduled to be arraigned at a later date in Brockton Superior Court, where Duffy will prosecute the case on behalf of Cruz's office, per the WBSM report.
