2nd man sentenced to prison in Fall River Superior Court for role in murder of 20-year-old Lorenzo Gomes

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III has announced that a 27-year-old non-citizen pled guilty in the Fall River Superior Court to Manslaughter and Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm. 

Wyllie Monteiro, who was residing in New Bedford, was sentenced by the Honorable Raffi Yessayan to a State Prison sentence of 10 to 12 and a half years. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jason Mohan and Catherine Sauter.

On July 2, 2023, the New Bedford Shot Spotter system alerted police to a series of gunshots in the area of Tallman and North Front Streets. 

Upon arrival, police located several spent shell casings and ballistics damage to a parked vehicle.  No victims or witnesses were present.  A city camera at the intersection revealed a white Nissan Acura and gray Honda Civic were in the intersection at the time of the shooting.  Police also determined from the camera that the shots came from the back driver’s side of the Civic into the Acura.  A 911 caller into the New Bedford Police then indicated that he was on the phone with his friend, 20-year-old Lorenzo Gomes, who was in the City of New Bedford, when he heard gunshots and Gomes indicated to the caller that he had “been hit”.  The caller indicated that Gomes then became unresponsive on the phone.  Police then “pinged” the phone of Gomes and located him in the white Acura at the intersection of Tallman Street and Belleville Road, a short distance from the shooting scene.  Police located Gomes slumped over the steering wheel suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest and one to his back.  He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. 

The police investigation determined that Sterling Robinson was the front seat passenger of the Civic at the time of the shooting.  Robinson was on a GPS ankle monitor at the time and police were able to use the GPS to track the movements of the Civic before and after the shooting.  Police learned that the Civic was at a Taco Bell drive through for approximately 45 minutes prior to the murder.  An employee from Taco Bell identified Wyllie Monteiro as the driver of the Civic, Sterling Robinson as the front seat passenger, Xavier Rodriguez as the rear passenger on the driver’s side and James Robles as a second rear passenger.  Video surveillance after the shooting revealed that all parties in the Civic remained in the same locations.  Surveillance video showed that Monteiro’s vehicle drove past the victim on Acushnet Avenue 23 seconds prior to the shooting.  The Civic, driven by Monteiro, then turned to get behind the victim and chased after the victim as co-defendant, Xavier Rodriguez, shot at the victim multiple times. 

In March, Rodriguez was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 28 years with credit for 992 days already served.

According to an obituary, Gomes was a graduate of New Bedford High School, Class of 2021, and was looking forward to attending UMass Dartmouth to pursue his dream of relocating and one day owning his own business.

“The defendant was the driver in the shooting death of Lorenzo Gomes.  This was another senseless act of violence that appeared to be spontaneous. This street violence undermines people’s sense of security in their communities. The co-defendant, Xavier Rodriguez,  was convicted of first-degree murder after a jury trial on March 23, 2026. The defendant has a minimal record and is not a US citizen.,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.