On New Year's Eve of 2015, a life was tragically cut short in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Aaron Gant Jr., a 24-year-old Black / African American male, was fatally wounded in a shooting that would later be described by prosecutors as a gang-related retaliation. The incident occurred around 7:10 p.m. on December 31, 2015, on Grinnell Street, near the intersection of Pleasant Street. Gant was a passenger in a vehicle when shots were fired from another car.
He was struck in the back of the head and was driven in a private vehicle to St. Luke's Hospital, arriving around 7:20 p.m. Despite the swift transport, he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to two suspects from New Bedford: Angel Acevedo and Aaron Bookman. In April 2016, both men were indicted by a Bristol County Grand Jury on charges of murder, carrying an illegal firearm, and assault and battery by means of a firearm. Prosecutors asserted that the murder was rooted in a feud between gangs associated with the West End and South End of New Bedford.
The legal proceedings culminated in a joint trial where, in June 2018, a jury found both Angel Acevedo, then 26, and Aaron Bookman, then 25, guilty of first-degree murder. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before reaching their verdict. The conviction brought a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for both men. They were also found guilty of carrying an illegal firearm. The successful prosecution and convictions were the result of a coordinated investigation by New Bedford Police Detectives and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.
