Man arrested in connection with 2017 birthday party killing cold case, CT officials say
A second person was arrested in connection with the killing of a man at a birthday party in 2017, Connecticut officials say.
Jamell Evans, 30, of New Britain, was arrested following a joint cold case investigation by the chief state attorney’s office, the New Britain state’s attorney office and the New Britain Police Department, according to a Oct. 5 news release from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. He is charged with murder in connection with the killing of 32-year-old Gabriel “Bebo” Pereira in New Britain, officials say.
New Britain police received “several reports of shots fired” at night on Aug. 1, 2017. Pereira, who was attending a birthday party in the area, stepped outside and was shot in the head, officials said.
When police arrived, they found Pereira lying near the porch, surrounded by family trying to help him, officials said. He was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after.
The case had gone cold in recent years with no arrests made in the immediate aftermath of Pereira’s death, but the chief state attorney’s cold case unit continued to work on it. Investigators relied on tips, phone records, eyewitness interviews and “close examination of video surveillance footage,” officials said. The case also involved a grand jury investigation.
After conducting their investigation, authorities arrested Evans, who was already in jail at Robinson Correctional Institutional on “unrelated criminal charges,” officials said.
In late September, officials announced the arrest of 30-year-old Michael Coleman, of Middletown, who was the first to be charged with murder in connection with Pereira’s death. His bond was set at $5 million, officials said in a Sept. 22 release.
Evans’ bond has been set at $3 million, officials said.
New Britain is about 10 miles southwest of Hartford.
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