Rhode Island habitual offender sentenced to decades in prison for murder of 38-year-old Robert Bullard

Attorney General Peter Neronha has announced that a Central Falls man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve decades at the Adult Correctional Institutions for the 2014 murder of 38-year-old Robert Bullard in Providence. 

On May 22, 2024, Superior Court Justice Robert Krause sentenced 37-year-old Malcolm Querido to serve 60 years at the ACI for the murder of Bullard. Judge Krause also deemed Querido to be a Habitual Offender and sentenced him to a consecutive 25-year non-parolable sentence, with 15 years of the consecutive sentence to be served at the ACI. On February 21, 2024, following the conclusion of a five-day trial, a jury found Querido guilty of one count of second-degree murder. 

“This defendant murdered Robert Bullard in a senseless act of violence, and he will now be held accountable for his brutal crime,” said Attorney General Neronha. “While nothing can undo the pain this defendant caused, I hope that this significant sentence will bring Mr. Bullard’s family some semblance of peace, and the sense that justice has finally been served. I am grateful to Judge Krause for recognizing the defendant as a habitual offender and sentencing him as such, and to the Providence Police Department for their hard work on this case and many others.”

During the trial, the State proved that Querido murdered Robert Bullard, stabbing him to death after a dispute between the victim and a woman.

On September 7, 2014, Bullard arranged to meet with a female at an Allston Street apartment in Providence, which she shared with Querido. An argument ensued and the woman began to yell, at which point Querido burst into the room and stabbed the victim to death. The woman called 911 and Querido fled the scene. First responders transported the victim to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Bullard was remembered by loved ones as a loving and kind man.

“In order to maintain public safety, we must hold accountable those who commit violent crime,” said Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez, Jr. “I am thankful for the hard work of Detective Mattera and retired Detectives Washburn and Allin, as well as the Office of the Attorney General, for their investigation and prosecution of this case.”

Assistant Attorney General Eric Batista and Special Assistant Attorney General Alison Bittl of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Robert Washburn (retired), Detective Bill Mattera, and BCI Detective Doug Allin (retired) of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.