Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that James Stevens (age 31), of Providence, was found guilty yesterday by a Providence County Superior Court jury of voluntary manslaughter. The jury returned the verdict after less than a day of deliberations that followed a six-day trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Luis M. Matos. The charge against Stevens stemmed from a 2016 incident that claimed the life of Jasper Williams.
During the trial, the State proved that on the evening of December 10, 2016, Stevens became involved in an argument with his ex-girlfriend and the victim, Jasper Williams, that led to a violent confrontation outside of the ex-girlfriend's home on Warren Avenue in East Providence. During the confrontation, Stevens repeatedly stabbed the victim 18 times. Jasper Williams later succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. Stevens, meanwhile, fled Rhode Island and was later arrested in El Paso, Texas.
Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced in June and faces up to 30 years in prison. The East Providence Police Department led the investigation and Assistant Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo and Special Assistant Attorney General Robert Johnson prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
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