Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III has announced that 23-year-old Anthony Jalo of New Bedford, MA, was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery and carrying a firearm yesterday afternoon after a three-week jury trial in the Fall River Superior Court.
The defendant was sentenced by the Honorable Raffi Yessayan to serve life without the possibility of parole on the murder charge, 3 to 5 years concurrent for unlawful carrying a firearm and 10 to 15 years from and after on the armed robbery. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Sylvia and Shawn Guilderson.
On Sunday, August 4, 2024, at approximately 1:36 am, New Bedford Police received a 911 call for shots fired and a male not breathing in the yard of Harmony House at 234 Earle Street.
Upon arrival, officers located 44-year-old Aaron Britto lying on the grass suffering from multiple gunshot wounds which caused his death.
Surveillance video captured the shooting of the decedent. Video also captured the victim following a male, identified as Rubem Lima, down an alley. Jalo is then seen walking down the same alley and immediately firing a gun at the victim. The defendant then leaned over the victim and appeared to take an item from him. It was determined that Jalo robbed the victim of his gold chain after he shot him several times. Multiple surveillance cameras captured both Jalo and Lima fleeing the area of the shooting. Video surveillance captured the whereabouts of the defendant and his accomplice prior to the shooting. From those videos, police were able to identify several civilians who were able to then identify Jalo as being with them and consistent with the individual on the surveillance video.
The victim was at the Morna Lounge that evening with his son socializing when Jalo and his accomplice lured him down an alley and then shot and robbed him. After the murder, the defendant and his accomplice fled to the south end of New Bedford and after an investigation they were arrested and charged.
An obituary stated that Britto “was loved far and wide in our city and as Aaron always told his children “he knew the whole neighborhood”! He was the kindest, sweetest soul and would give his last penny to anyone he knew and loved. Aaron loved to race RC cars with his sons. He very much loved and was a big supporter of New Bedford’s local music artists. But there is nothing Aaron was prouder of and nothing he loved more than being a father. Being a father was Aaron’s biggest passion in life.”
“This case is a tragic loss of life simply because the defendant wanted to rob the victim of his property. This is another example of the lawlessness that is going on in our communities that upends lives and serves no purpose. I want to thank the prosecutors and investigators in this case. This case highlights the critical importance of technology in solving many of these violent street cases. The conviction hinged primarily on the effective use of video surveillance and phone location data. There was a very effective presentation of this evidence in court by the prosecutors. Thank you to the investigators for their search and collection of this evidence. I am pleased that the victim’s family received some consolation with a first-degree murder conviction for this totally senseless killing,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.
