In the early morning hours of October 10, 2017, 28-year-old Fabio Tavares of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was shot while riding in the passenger seat of a 2001 Honda Accord. The car had been driven by his friend, 27-year-old Stephen Bodden, with Carmelo Kercado Jr. seated in the back. The three had met an acquaintance earlier at the Whiskey Lounge on Acushnet Avenue.

According to investigators, Kercado opened fire from the backseat, striking both Bodden and Tavares. The driver lost control and the car crashed into a parked vehicle on Central Avenue. Bodden was pronounced dead at the scene after multiple gunshot wounds, including three to the head. Tavares was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital but died of five gunshot wounds. Kercado fled on foot from the scene; authorities later issued a warrant and placed him on the Massachusetts State Police’s Most Wanted list. It is alleged the shootings were connected to the unsolved killing of Marcus Roberts two months earlier.

Did anyone in the New Bedford area see the Honda Accord or the men that night, or have information about contacts between the victims and the suspect?