On a cold December day in 2021, the body of a 32-year-old Hispanic male, Reymon Delacruz-Batista, was discovered by hunters in the Pittsfield State Forest. An investigation led by the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office soon determined that Delacruz-Batista had been the victim of a homicide, having died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into his death led to the identification of four main suspects.
Over the following months, a multi-agency effort resulted in the apprehension of these individuals. The first arrest was made in February 2022, when the Pittsfield Police Department took Jamel Nicholson into custody. In March, the Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force arrested Naquan Miller in North Adams. Later that same month, the U.S. Marshal's Service apprehended Timothy McFadden in the Bronx, New York. The fourth suspect, Anthony Robertson, was arrested in April in Binghamton, New York, also by the U.S. Marshal's Service.
All four men were subsequently indicted on charges of murder and armed kidnapping with serious bodily injury. The specific charges varied slightly among the co-defendants, with some also facing firearms offenses and accessory charges. Following their arraignments in Berkshire Superior Court, all four were ordered to be held without the right to bail. A fifth individual, Melissa Perrea, was also indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and destruction of documents in connection with the case. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case, though specific details about the motive and circumstances leading to Delacruz-Batista's death have been withheld as the investigation remains ongoing to preserve the ability to corroborate witness statements.
