Dwayne Shelley Griffith, a 41-year-old Black / African American man, found his life tragically cut short on the evening of August 12, 2023, in Springfield, Massachusetts. A lifetime resident of the city, Griffith was in the vicinity of State and Dresden Streets when the sound of gunfire pierced the night. A ShotSpotter activation alerted law enforcement to the shooting, and upon arrival, they discovered Griffith suffering from gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to Baystate Medical Center, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he died later that evening.
The investigation into the homicide was led by the Springfield Police Department. Their efforts eventually pointed them toward a suspect: 28-year-old Ethan Fitzgerald of Ludlow. On January 23, 2024, an arrest warrant was issued for Fitzgerald in connection with Griffith's murder. He was taken into custody the following morning near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Dwight Street. The charges brought against him included murder, carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building.
Ethan Fitzgerald was no stranger to law enforcement. At the time of Dwayne Griffith's death, Fitzgerald was reportedly out on bail for two separate gun-related cases in Hampden Superior Court. His criminal record already included a conviction on gun charges from 2017. Furthermore, in the months following the August homicide, Fitzgerald was arrested again in September on drug and weapons charges, which included the discovery of two illegal firearms, one of which was a "ghost gun," along with drugs and a significant amount of cash in a Ludlow apartment. Despite this, he was released on bail once more. Following his arrest for Griffith's murder, he was held without the right to bail.
