Lowell woman in ‘road-rage’ shooting faces murder charge

A 20-year-old woman accused of shooting and killing a Peabody man in an apparent fit of road rage in Lowell Thursday is behind bars and facing a murder charge, officials said.

Graciela Paulino of Lowell was ordered held without bail yesterday at her arraignment in Lowell District Court on a single count of murder.

Lowell cops responding to a 12:39 p.m. motor vehicle accident involving a motorist who had been shot at the intersection of YMCA Drive and the exit driveway of the Gallagher Transportation Terminal on Thorndike Street found 34-year-old Marc Devoe behind the wheel and suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a statement issued yesterday by Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.

Devoe was rushed to Lowell General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said Devoe crashed a blue Hyundai Accent into a cement jersey barrier after he was shot by Paulino.

A preliminary investigation revealed that Devoe and another man were driving in the area of the transportation terminal when they got into a confrontation with another motorist, later identified as Paulino, officials said. Following the altercation, Ryan said Paulino followed their car and eventually shot Devoe once in the chest.

After he was shot, Ryan said Devoe drove “a short distance” before crashing on YMCA Drive.

The preliminary investigation, she said, suggests Devoe’s murder was “a random shooting as a result of a possible road rage incident.”