SPRINGFIELD — A Belchertown man was found guilty of one murder and cleared of another after a lengthy trial stemming from a gun battle that took place in Springfield in 2021.

Victor Oquendo, 28, was arrested by Springfield Police in 2022 after an investigation into the death of Charleen Figueroa in Springfield. Figueroa, who was 22 at the time of her death, had been found by police in a car suffering from a gunshot wound in November 2021 and later died at the scene. Another person, identified as Chad Alexander, was also shot and killed outside a nearby home in the vicinity of Figueroa.

At the time of the Oquendo’s arrest, Springfield Police indicated that the deaths of Figueroa and Alexander occurred as the result of a gun battle in Springfield.

After an investigation, Springfield Police arrested Oquendo in Belchertown and charged him with murder, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and malicious damage to a motor vehicle.

Following a jury trial, Oquendo was found not guilty for the death of Figueroa, but guilty of first-degree murder of Alexander. On April 16, Oquendo was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on the murder conviction; six to eight years in state prison for armed assault with intent to murder; three to five years in state prison for illegal possession of a firearm; and two and one half years in jail for illegal possession of a loaded firearm.

All charges run concurrent with the life sentence.

“The sentencing of Victor Oquendo brings a measure of justice in a case that has caused immense pain and loss,” Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in a statement. “While no sentence can undo the harm done, we hope this outcome brings some sense of closure and peace to the involved families and loved ones.”

The commonwealth was represented by Assistant District Attorney Paul Caccaviello and Assistant District Attorney Travis Lynch, with Kristin Welch serving as victim witness advocate.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.