Robert Dupuis, 37, was sentenced Monday to 25 to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, armed assault to rob and illegal firearm possession by a criminal in the 2020 shooting death of Quentin Jacobs-Hylton. Jacobs-Hylton, 25, was killed in a vehicle on Stoneland Road on Aug. 16, 2020. Dupuis had originally faced a murder charge.
As reported by the Worcester Telegram, Dupuis admitted that he and another man planned to rob Jacobs-Hylton after contacting him to arrange a cocaine deal. Assistant District Attorney Shayna Woodard told the court the men entered the car where Jacobs-Hylton was sitting, and Dupuis drew a gun. During a struggle, the gun fired, hitting Dupuis in the hand and Jacobs-Hylton in the hand and head.
The Telegram reported that Judge James Gavin Reardon Jr. ruled the murder charge was appropriately pleaded down to manslaughter in light of the case’s facts. Reardon described Dupuis’s criminal record as replete with crimes. Dupuis will receive credit for 2,261 days already spent in jail before sentencing, according to the report.
Arrest Reports Differ on Where Dupuis Was Taken Into Custody
The Telegram reported that Dupuis was arrested about a month after the shooting. Accounts from the time differ on where he was taken into custody: a 2020 Telegram report said Robert J. Dupuis, then 30, was arrested at 1 Stoneland Road, while MassLive reported that he was picked up in Pinellas County, Florida. The available reports do not resolve the discrepancy.
Prosecutors cited Dupuis’s DNA in the car and surveillance video they said showed him running from the area with a gun. The Telegram reported that Woodard said Dupuis also admitted to planning the robbery. After Dupuis’s arrest, the Office of the Worcester County District Attorney announced murder, armed assault to rob, illegal possession of a loaded firearm and illegal possession of a firearm charges. The office also reported that a Worcester County grand jury indicted all three defendants on March 19.
Homicide Figures and a Separate Robbery Case
The available figures do not show how Worcester’s homicide totals changed in every year from 2020 onward. Spectrum News 1, reporting Worcester Police Department data, counted 6 homicides in 2023 and 16 in 2024; those citywide totals do not speak to the circumstances of Jacobs-Hylton’s killing.
In a separate Worcester County case, a jury found Tyrone C. Strong guilty of first-degree murder in the 2003 armed-robbery shooting of Christian A. Perez in Fitchburg, according to the Office of the Worcester County District Attorney. That case ended in a jury verdict, unlike Dupuis’s manslaughter plea.
Family Describes a Life Cut Short
The Telegram reported that Jacobs-Hylton’s fiancée, Stephanie M. Colon, told Dupuis in court, “You robbed me of my future.” Colon drove him to the hospital after the shooting and described the lasting trauma of that experience. She remembered Jacobs-Hylton as a devoted partner and father.
Jacobs-Hylton’s sister, Kamille Hylton, and mother, Amelia Jacobs, also spoke about his close ties to family, according to the Telegram. Family members recalled his interests, including dirtbikes and video games, and said his son brought him great joy.
Dupuis told the judge he had worked as a plumber. His attorney, Richard Farrell, said Dupuis regretted the impact of his choices on those in the courtroom. The sentence resolves the criminal case stemming from Jacobs-Hylton’s killing.
