A man has been convicted for a 2017 double murder in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.
Carmelo Kercado Jr., of New Bedford, was convicted on two counts of first degree murder and illegal gun charges, according to DA Tom Quinn. He was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon to serve two consecutive life sentences, with no possibility of parole.
Kercado was arrested in North Carolina, nearly two months after the double murder in October of 2017. After meeting with the two shooting victims — Stephen Bodden and Fabio Tavares at a bar called the Whiskey Lounge — the three left in a car. The car was heading west on Central Avenue in New Bedford, when Bodden and Tavares were shot, sending the car crashing into a parked vehicle, officials said.
Bodden was shot six times, and Tavares was shot five times.
Prosecutors cited surveillance footage and two civilian witnesses as being critical to the convictions.
