New Bedford Double Murder Defendant Returned to Massachusetts; To Be Arraigned Tuesday
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
December 22, 2017
Carmelo Kercado Jr. was transported back to Massachusetts this evening and will be arraigned Tuesday morning in New Bedford District Court for the October 10th slaying of Stephen Bodden and Fabio Tavares in New Bedford.
Kercado, 35, of New Bedford was arrested in Concord, N.C., early Tuesday afternoon. Task force officers had set up surveillance on an address there after Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and members of the US Marshals Service in Boston developed intelligence that he may have been there. The United States Marshals Service North Carolina Joint Fugitive Task Force took KERCADO into custody at approximately 1:25 p.m.
Mr. Kercado is accused of shooting and killing Stephen Bodden, 27, of New Bedford and Taunton, and Fabio Tavares, 28, of New Bedford, while the three of them drove in a vehicle along Central Avenue on the morning of October 10 at around 1:30 a.m.
New Bedford Police received a 911 call around 1:30 a.m. in regards to shots being fired at a motor vehicle at 200 Central Avenue. The caller stated that popping sounds were heard on the street just prior to the sound of a car crash. When police arrived, they found the 2001 Honda Accord angled up against a parked car on the south side of the streets.
First responders determined the Stephen Bodden, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle was already deceased. A second victim, Fabio Tavares, was sitting in the passenger seat and was found to still be breathing. He was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, where he later died.
Mr. Kercado waived rendition in a North Carolina courthouse Thursday and was transported back to Massachusetts earlier this evening by Massachusetts State Troopers assigned to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn’s office. He will be held in custody through the weekend before being arraigned Tuesday morning.
The defendant is charged with two counts of murder, carrying an illegal firearm and carrying a loaded illegal firearm.
The investigation and prosecution is being coordinated by Assistant District Attorney Robert Digiantomaso.
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576–cell