Home invasion suspect shot brothers in New Bedford and Taunton on same night, police say

TAUNTON — Police reports reveal harrowing new details about an armed home invasion in Taunton that was part of a violent rampage that started in New Bedford, police said.

The suspect allegedly shot a man in New Bedford and then less than an hour later shot his brother in Taunton, while looking for a third brother, police said.

The mother of the two men who were shot, called Taunton police saying someone named "Chapo" had just shot her son in New Bedford and was heading to Taunton to shoot her other son, police said.

A woman present at the Taunton home invasion — who eventually stopped the suspect by hitting him over the head with a gun so hard that the gun broke in half — told police the suspect burst into the apartment wearing a bullet proof vest and brandishing a handgun, screaming, "I will kill you all," the police report said.

Shooting in New Bedford

On the night of Dec. 22, at 9:15 p.m., New Bedford Police were dispatched to St. Luke’s Hospital regarding a man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Jovante Matthews, according to a Taunton police report. Matthews declined to speak with police, but a witness told them Matthews met up with “someone he doesn’t like” in the North End of New Bedford.

The witness identified a person named “Chapo” as the one who shot Matthews, the police report said. "Chapo" is known to New Bedford Police to be Joshua Deleon, the Taunton Police report says.

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911 call in Taunton

Then, just before 10 p.m., Taunton Police received a 911 phone call from Jovante Matthews' mother, saying "Chapo" had just shot her son in New Bedford and was driving to Taunton to shoot her other son, Justice Matthews, who lives with her at 29 Newcomb Place.

The Taunton police report notes that, simultaneously, at 9:59 p.m., they were getting a 911 call in the area of Newcomb Place from a different woman, the first woman's niece, saying someone entered the apartment where she also lives armed with a gun and threatening to kill people she is living with.

When police arrived on the scene, they found the niece hiding in the closet of the first-floor entrance way, with the armed home invasion happening in the second-floor apartment.

"Officers (Tyler) Nichols and (Denzel) Santos were informed there was a firearm involved and made the decision to enter the second floor apartment where they knew there was still and altercation taking place," according to the report of Taunton Police Detective Alexandra Correia.

Officers kicked down the door of the second floor while Deleon and Justice Matthews were struggling on the ground in a side bedroom, police said. Police drew their guns and ordered the two to stop fighting. Justice Matthews had a gunshot wound to the leg and Deleon had a head injury.

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'I'm going to blow your head off'

The niece and her girlfriend told police shortly before Deleon arrived, Justice Matthews got a phone call with a message that someone was coming to shoot him. When Deleon arrived, the niece was in the bathroom hiding in the bathtub.

The niece told police she heard the invader say, “I’m going to blow your head off.”

The niece's girlfriend told police Deleon hit both her and Justice Matthews on the head with his firearm after stating “I will kill all of you.”

She said Deleon was looking for another Matthews brother, with Deleon even placing a call to someone on his cell phone asking for the other brother’s whereabouts.

Deleon, she said, had brought two firearms with him, with one of them eventually being put down on the nearby dinner table.

Escalation

A physical altercation commenced between Deleon and Justice Matthews, with Deleon’s firearm discharged, hitting Matthews in one of his legs, according to the police reports.

The niece's girlfriend said she jumped on Deleon’s back to try to stop him and he bit deep into one of her arms in an effort to get her to let go, the police report said.

She said more gunshots were fired during the struggle, but no one in the room was hit.

She said she grabbed the second gun that was left on the dinner table and struck Deleon with it in the back of his head, according to the police report. This was when Deleon fell to the ground, and she and Justice Matthews were then able to overpower him and keep him pinned down.

She said she broke down the bathroom door to check on her girlfriend and told her to get out of the apartment and wait for police downstairs.

Justice Matthews told police that it was Deleon who shot him in the leg, the report says.

Downstairs neighbor reports frightening situation

The downstairs neighbor told police she heard the altercation, and one of the men yell, “Don’t shoot me,” before gathering her four children to hide during the incident.

The niece said as she was leaving the apartment to wait for police downstairs she heard Deleon say there was a car waiting down the street for when Justice’s brother returned home, which is why she hid in the first-floor closet.

Nothing in the police reports indicate anything about another car or associates of Deleon being on site.

No motive for either the New Bedford shooting or armed home invasion in Taunton was stated in the reports.

Medical treatment

The niece and her girlfriend were transported to Morton Hospital.

Justice Matthews was first taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton before then being transported to Boston Medical Center to treat the gunshot wound in his leg.

Deleon was medically evacuated by helicopter from Morton Hospital to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston for treatment of his head injury.

Charges

Deleon was charged with:

• Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon

• Assault and battery

• Assault with a dangerous weapon

• Armed assault with intent to murder

• Possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony

• Home invasion

• Possession of ammunition without an FID card

• Use of body armor in the commission of a felony

• Possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number

• Discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling

Continuance

A dangerousness hearing for Deleon was scheduled for Jan. 3 in Taunton District Court, but his attorney requested and was granted a continuance to January 10.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Violent Taunton home invasion started in New Bedford. What we know