In the early morning hours of September 8, 2020, a dispute outside a birthday party in Cranston, Rhode Island, turned fatal for 24-year-old Jamal Vasquez. A Black / African American male, Vasquez was found by Cranston Police officers around 4:06 a.m. in a driveway on Harris Avenue, suffering from a gunshot wound to the face. Despite immediate medical aid rendered at the scene, he was pronounced dead.
This incident marked the first homicide in the city of Cranston in 18 months.
The investigation that followed revealed a complex series of events that began with Vasquez driving a female friend to the party to confront another young woman. A physical altercation broke out between the two women in the street, and when Vasquez attempted to intervene, he was confronted by several other men. During this confrontation, Vasquez reportedly drew a stolen handgun. In response, another individual, later identified as 23-year-old Jose Herpin of Providence, is alleged to have produced his own handgun and fired a single shot, striking Vasquez in the face. Herpin then reportedly fled the scene in a dark-colored sedan. It was not immediately clear if Vasquez and Herpin had known each other prior to the incident.
Cranston Police, with assistance from the Providence and East Providence Police Departments, launched an intensive investigation. Their efforts led them to identify Jose Herpin as the primary suspect. An arrest warrant was issued for Herpin on September 22, 2020, charging him with murder. On October 1, 2020, Herpin was apprehended after a brief car and foot chase in Providence, during which he attempted to discard a handgun. Following his arrest, Herpin was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license.
Despite the initial murder charge, the case took a significant turn in March 2021 when a grand jury declined to indict Jose Herpin on the murder charge. The grand jury did, however, indict him on other charges, including two counts of carrying a pistol without a license, reckless driving, and altering identification marks on a firearm. Following the grand jury's decision, the Cranston Police Chief stated that they considered the case closed and were not seeking any other suspects. He noted that both the victim and the suspect were armed at the time of the incident and that the police respected the grand jury's decision based on all the facts presented.
