Life In Prison For Providence Gun Attack That Killed 1, Wounded Another

The 22-year-old Massachusetts man was found guilty after a 10-day trial.

By Joseph Hosey, Patch Staff

Jul 31, 2026 10:58 AM EDT

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Massachusetts man was sentenced to life in prison in connection with a Providence gun attack that left one dead and another wounded.

Je'avonie Dorvil, age 22, had been found guilty in April following a 10-day trial of second-degree murder, discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury, carrying a pistol without a license and possession of a stolen firearm.

Dorvil, a resident of Fall River, was sentenced to life at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

"The life sentence will run consecutively to a 60-year sentence, with 40 years to serve at the ACI and 20-year suspended sentence," according to a media release from the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.

Dorvil gunned down Biniam Tsegai, 35, and Merhawi Berhe, 28, in January 2022, killing Tsegai and wounding Berhe, the release said.

Video surveillance footage "showed two groups of males — one including (Dorvile), the other including (Tsegai and Berhe) — crossing paths near the intersection" of Elwood and Potters avenues, according to the release.

"After a verbal exchange, (Dorvil) is seen removing a firearm from his waistband and firing multiple times at the (Tsegai and Berhe) before fleeing the scene," the release said.

Officers found Tsegai on the ground and Berhe in a car, "both suffering from several gunshot wounds," according to the release.

The two men were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where Tsegai was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, the release said.

Six months after the killing, Rhode Island Department of Transportation workers found a firearm near an Interstate 95 exit in Pawtucket, according to the release.

The gun matched the .380 shell casings recovered from the crime scene, the release said, and a subsequent check revealed it had been stolen from Derry, New Hampshire.

"This defendant escalated a verbal altercation to murder, and because of that decision, Biniam's life was taken much too soon, and Merhawi's life was forever changed," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said in the release.

"While nothing can bring Biniam back, I hope his family and friends can find some semblance of peace knowing justice will be served with this life sentence," Neronha said.