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“An 18-year-old former New Bedford man indicted for the July 2023 shooting of a New Bedford Police detective was arrested this afternoon at Logan International Airport in Boston, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Denzel Gomes was arrested by Massachusetts State Police and New Bedford Police shortly after his flight from Portugal landed at the airport. The defendant was indicted last September on charges of Armed Assault to Murder, Attempted Assault and Battery with a Firearm, Assault and Battery with a Firearm, Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon-Causing Serious Bodily Injury and Carrying an Illegal Firearm.
The defendant will be held in jail overnight and arraigned in Fall River Superior Court tomorrow morning.
The defendant is accused of shooting and injuring New Bedford Police Detective Lavar Gilbert, and another civilian, on July 17, 2023 at the intersection of Orchard and Rivet streets.
“I would like to thank the efforts of law enforcement agencies on the federal level who we worked closely with, including US Customs and Border Protection, the US Marshals and the ATF, for their persistence and follow through in helping us locate the defendant. I am pleased he has now been arrested and apprehended for this violent and lawless shooting that seriously injured detective Gilbert and injured another person,” District Attorney Quinn said.
An extensive grand jury investigation into the shooting, headed up by Assistant District Attorneys Shawn Guilderson and Matthew Sylvia and conducted jointly by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to DA Quinn’s office and New Bedford Police Detectives, resulted in the September 28, 2023 indictment.
After the indictment was returned, it was determined that the defendant had already left the country.
With the assistance of the US Marshals, agents with the US Customs and Border Protection and ATF agents, investigators identified and located the defendant boarding a flight today bound for Boston. The defendant was arrested in Boston without incident.
Because the defendant has yet to be arraigned in open court on these charges, no further information about the facts of the case can be disseminated until he is arraigned tomorrow.
“I am very pleased to know that the fugitive responsible for injuring one of our detectives during a recent shooting is now in custody. I’m thankful for the combined efforts of our dedicated law enforcement community in capturing the suspect,” New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira said. “I would also like to acknowledge the particularly tenacious efforts of Detective Jordan Ferreira. This incident highlights the importance of unity between agencies and the relentless pursuit of dangerous criminals.”
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