In the daylight hours of November 6, 2016, a tragic and violent encounter in Everett, Massachusetts, claimed the life of 21-year-old White / Caucasian male, Gary Mike Duff-Turcotte of Stoneham. The incident unfolded near Ferry and Chelsea Streets as what law enforcement officials would later describe as a drug deal that took a deadly turn. Duff-Turcotte had driven to the location with his girlfriend, reportedly to sell marijuana to a man he had arranged to meet.
He had expressed apprehension to his girlfriend that he might be robbed.
The man who got into Duff-Turcotte's car was identified as 27-year-old Keith Herring of Boston. When Duff-Turcotte hesitated to proceed with the transaction, Herring reportedly produced a gun and held it to his neck. At the same time, a second man, later identified as 26-year-old Clifton Gumbs of Everett, approached the driver's side of the vehicle wearing a ski mask. The situation quickly escalated to an attempted carjacking. When Duff-Turcotte refused to get out of his car, Herring shot him in the chest.
Despite his severe injury, Duff-Turcotte managed to run from the vehicle before collapsing. He was rushed to Cambridge Health Alliance Everett Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Herring and Gumbs allegedly fled the scene in Duff-Turcotte's car. The investigation led authorities to Herring, who was wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet as a condition of bail for an unrelated case. He was arrested the following day and charged with murder, armed robbery, carjacking, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Further investigation led to the arrest of Clifton Gumbs, who faced the same charges as Herring. Additionally, Gumbs' aunt, 40-year-old Nicole Charla Woods of Everett, was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. Woods was accused of lying to a grand jury to provide an alibi for her nephew and of helping him hide his cell phone from the police. The case highlighted the tragic consequences of a prearranged meeting that devolved into a fatal act of violence.
