Details revealed concerning death of Swansea man after no criminal charges were brought in ruled homicide

Extensive details have been released by police concerning the death of a Swansea man that was labeled a homicide.

Last month, the Rhode Island Statewide Grand Jury determined that no criminal charges should be brought against anyone concerning Steven Velozo’s death in Little Compton.

According to a recently released police report, in October of 2022 at approximately 9:15 p.m., the Little Compton Police Station received a 911 call for an unresponsive male on Pottersville Road.

Officers arrived on scene and observed a large gathering of individuals in front and outside of the home. They were directed to the unresponsive party lying on the floor of the kitchen/living room of the home. Once in the home, police observed Steven Velozo lying on his back. CPR was performed before Velozo was transported to the hospital where he later died.

A party was taking place at the home and witnesses observed Velozo to be extremely intoxicated and unsteady on his feet and falling over numerous times. Shortly before calling 911, a neighbor was rumored to be in attendance, uninvited. Once Velozo heard that he was in his house, he became extremely agitated. Velozo allegedly lunged at a party-goer who he believed was the neighbor. Velozo in fact had grabbed someone else and began pushing him around the kitchen. Two witnesses observed this and attempted to stop Velozo. Velozo reportedly threw one person across the room. Velozo’s mother stepped in to try to stop her son and was then pushed down to the ground, twice. Three witnesses grabbed a hold of Velozo and brought him to the ground in a controlled grappled. The three were able to pin Velozo’s arms and legs and prevent him from thrashing about. One of the three told Velozo that he needed to calm down.

The individuals got up off Velozo and quickly noticed that he was then unresponsive. One of the witnesses began CPR.

Velozo’s mother stated that her son had been smoking weed and drinking heavily during the party.

Velozo was transported to St. Anne’s Hospital, arriving at 10:11 p.m. and was pronounced dead minutes later.

Later in the evening, a witness told police that he witnessed Steven Velozo acting “off the rails”. He saw Velozo reach and grab a man close to his throat in the kitchen. Velozo’s mother attempted to separate the two and was thrown aside for the first time. He then observed Velozo being pushed away, towards the garage door by another man. The witness observed the man take Velozo to the ground from behind. He stated that he had wrapped his arms around Velozo’s chest and guided him to the ground and stayed on top of him for “what could have been a minute.” The witness noticed that after a short time Velozo was not moving and advised the man to “ease up, he’s turning blue.” The man got up and checked Velozo’s status, according to the witness and Velozo was unresponsive.

On January 9th, Little Compton PD were informed by the medical examiner that Velozo’s cause of death was mechanical asphyxia (force or object keeps you from breathing), atherosclerotic (buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in artery walls), cardiovascular disease, and obesity.

According to an obituary, Velozo was “an accomplished Ten Pin Bowler, primarily bowling out of Somerset Holiday Lanes, having accumulated many trophies and awards”. He was also “part of the 4-man team that won the Massachusetts State Bowling championship, bringing the state bowling trophy back to his home lanes in Somerset. Velozo “was also an accomplished chef, having won many awards for his famous clam chowder.”