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Calvin Robertson, 41, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, April 18, to three counts of manslaughter, the Hampden County District Attorney announced. Prosecutors chose to charge him with manslaughter to not interfere with his upcoming federal trial, where he faces a minimum of life in prison or a potential death sentence if convicted, DA Anthony Gulluni said in a news release.
Robertson admitted to the following slayings.
- Loan Nguyen, age 30, of Springfield, was killed on Dec. 7, 2006, at Perfect Nails II at 23 St. James Boulevard in Springfield. Roberson and two other masked men entered the store where she worked in an attempted robbery. Police found Nguyen with a bullet wound to the head and her hand duct-taped.
- Yonaides Pichardo, 28, of Springfield, was shot to death on Oct. 11, 2016, in his car. Police found him dead on Sycamore Street with a wound to his skull.
- David Pichardo, 27, of Springfield, died Oct. 19, 2017, while doing laundry at LaundroMax on Boston Road. Police found Pichardo at the back of the building, barely alive from a bullet wound when they arrived. Paramedics rushed him to Baystate Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries. Yonaides Pichardo was his brother.
No date has been set for his sentencing.
Robertson has been in federal custody since February 2021, when he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing Francisco Roman, a 31-year-old man from Chicopee, authorities said. Police found Roman's body in a burning car a day after Christmas 2020.
An autopsy found he had been shot multiple times, investigators said.
Federal prosecutors did not say when that trial would begin.
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