Police charge second suspect in 2017 cold case after man was fatally shot outside birthday party in New Britain
A second suspect has been charged in connection with a 2017 fatal shooting outside a birthday party in New Britain, officials said.
Jamell W. Evans, 30, of New Britain, was arrested in connection with the 2017 fatal shooting of Gabriel “Bebo” Pereira in New Britain following a joint investigation by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office and the New Britain Police Department, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
Evans is the second defendant charged in connection with Pereira’s death. Last month, 30-year-old Michael B. Coleman of Middletown was charged with murder.
On Aug. 1, 2017, New Britain police received several reports of shots fired at a home at 396 Park Street at 9:06 p.m. Responding officers found Pereira, 32, lying on the ground near the front porch surrounded by family who were attempting to render aid, according to police reports at the time of the homicide.
Pereira had been attending a relative’s birthday party at her second-floor apartment. About a dozen people were inside the home at the time of the shooting, according to police. Several reported that Pereira walked out to the parking lot to smoke a cigarette when he was killed by a single bullet to the head.
Emergency officials transported Pereira, who listed addresses in Wethersfield and Hartford, to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
For years after the shooting, police said there was no evidence of a dispute during or before the party and had no other explanation for the killing. Following an extensive investigation that included following up on tips, the close examination of video surveillance footage and cellphone records, numerous witness interviews and an extensive grand jury investigation, authorities arrested Evans and Coleman and charged both men with murder.
Evans is currently incarcerated at Robinson Correctional Institution in Enfield on unrelated charges. He was arraigned Thursday in New Britain Superior Court and was given a $3 million bond.
“The Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney never quits,” Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin said in a statement on Thursday. “This second arrest shows investigators’ dedication to ensuring that all parties responsible for the senseless murder of Mr. Pereira are brought to justice.”
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney John F. Fahey, the head of the Cold Case Unit, thanked investigators and the Connecticut Department of Correction’s Security Division for their commitment to the investigation.
“These arrests are the culmination of a six-year dedicated effort by hard-working law enforcement officers to find those responsible for the death of Mr. Pereira,” Fahey said. “The Cold Case Unit is committed to working tirelessly to resolve the cases that come before us.”