The Incredible Criminal Record of Godbout - Woman Accused in Death of Grammy-Nominated Musician

The Incredible Criminal Record of Godbout - Woman Accused in Death of Grammy-Nominated Musician

The number of times that Shannon Godbout has been arrested and charged with crimes is simply astounding.

Godbout is the woman who allegedly ran down and killed Roderick MacLeod on Saturday on a country road in Hopkinton. MacLeod was out walking his dog. The highly accomplished musician was a Grammy award nominee and a member of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

Godbout’s involvement with the court system has consumed much of her adult life; she is 41 years old. 

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Hopkinton police said on Saturday that she had been arrested 100 times.

 

Court Records Review

A GoLocal review of Godbout’s criminal records finds a near-endless number of charges against her. Officials at the Department of Corrections told GoLocal that it will take days to comply with all the days she has been in and out of prison.

According to prison records, Godbout’s first trip to the Adult Correction Institution was 13 years ago.

“Our records show her initial commitment was in 2002, with her first sentence being in 2003. Looks like a couple of sentences for driving with a suspended license. 60 days each,” a Department of Corrections spokesperson told GoLocal. 

“2021, expiration of her last sentence - driving without the consent of owner. But she came back on [a Larceny from a Person] charge in April of this year. She was released from court,” added the Department of Corrections.

 

Thousands and Thousands

While the Department of Corrections could not, on a day's notice, produce the total number of days Godbout has served in prison, GoLocal looked at the barrage of court dates and judicial actions.

Godbout’s lawyers, in the dozens and dozens of court cases reviewed by GoLocal, were largely public defenders.

Maybe the most remarkable takeaway in the court records is the sheer number of hearings, motions, and filings made by lawyers in Godbout’s cases. Many of the cases went on for years.

All of these cases consumed the prosecutors, the defense lawyers, the judges, the court clerks, the police, etc. 

More than a dozen judges have heard her cases.

Attorney General Peter Neronha's office responded to GoLocal's question about Godbout's criminal history.

"Up until now, the defendant’s past crimes, while numerous, have mostly been low-level, non-violent offenses such as simple drug possession and shoplifting.  She has been previously sentenced to varying terms of incarceration for those offenses, and the court, in sentencing her, presumably took into account her criminal history and the nature of the crimes to which she pleaded guilty," said Timothy M. Rondeau, Director of Communications for Neronha.

GoLocal reviewed cases in which charges were made by police in Cranston, Warwick, East Providence, Cumberland, North Smithfield, Hopkinton, Smithfield, and so on; there were dozens of felony charges, ranging from drug charges, driving a vehicle without the permission of the owner, and larceny, and there were dozens of misdemeanor charges.

 

Recent Charges

On Saturday, the Hopkinton Police Department charged Godbout with:

Driving to Endanger, Resulting in Death

Manufacture/Deliver/Possession With Intent Manufacture/Deliver Schedule I/II Controlled Substance-3rd+ Offense.

Both felonies.

The spokesperson for the Rhode Island court system, Alexandra Kriss, did not respond to questions.