# Fall River Man shot dead at Sunset Hill



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

By:Jay Pateakos, Herald News Staff Reporter
09/26/2006

FALL RIVER - A man witnesses identified only as "Jimmy" was shot and killed outside Apartment No. 276 in the Sunset Hill housing development around 9:30 p.m. Monday night. 


Sunset Hill resident Roland Dube, who also works as the project's maintenance worker, said he had settled down to watch Nick at Night with his daughter when heard multiple gunshots being fired near his building.

"I heard 15 shots go off, and I ran out my back door and saw the man fall," said Dube, a three-year resident of Sunset Hill. "There's two things I know: the sound of gunshots and how to count. It was like it was happening in my own living room."

Dube said that while being questioned by police, he was informed by a police officer that the victim had suffered at least two gunshot wounds to the back of the head.

Police would not identify the man and forwarded all calls for information to the District Attorney's office, who had not returned any calls by press time.

The partially covered victim had yet to be removed from the scene more than an hour and a half after the shots were reported to have been fired.

Multiple witnesses said that the man lived somewhere in Sunset Hill, but no one knew his exact address, and that he was 23 or 24 years old.

More than a dozen Sunset Hill residents were approached, but most said they either didn't see anything, didn't know the man or didn't want to talk to comment.

One woman, who refused to give a name, said she was surprised at the shooting because she felt Sunset Hill was one of the safer housing projects in the city.

"I've been living here for three years now and this is the second shooting I've seen," said Dube, referring to a what he said was a drug-related shooting two years ago where the victim was only shot in the leg. "This one was definitely something about revenge. He was dead before he hit the ground."


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Sunset Hill rocked by violence

By:Will Richmond, Herald News Staff Reporter

09/27/2006

FALL RIVER - Eighteen hours after the suspected shooting of a man in the Sunset Hill housing development, the Bristol County District Attorney's office declined to identify the victim or reveal a possible cause of death.

A statement released from District Attorney Paul F. Walsh's office Tuesday afternoon provided little detail into the shooting, other than to say Fall River police responded to the area of 277 Sunset Hill at approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday. Upon their arrival, police found a man lying dead in front of that address.

The statement said members of the state police assigned to Walsh's office and detectives with the Fall River Police Department are investigating the death.

They declined to identify the man and his age until next of kin have been notified.

While the District Attorney's office provided little information, a statement released Tuesday morning by the Fall River Police Department identified the man as a 23-year-old who was shot at least once. They said several spent shell casings were found in the area.

Residents and friends of the man, however, identified him only as "Jimmy."

One Sunset Hill resident said Jimmy ran from Charles Street knocking on doors and windows in an attempt to elude the shooter. The anonymous resident said when Jimmy stopped to bang at one window he was shot in the back of the head. Various residents said they heard 15 gunshots during the incident.

The death is Fall River's third homicide of the year.

While the investigation into the death continued Tuesday, raw emotion circulated around the Sunset Hill housing development as residents questioned what happened to lead to the Monday night's fatal shooting.

Residents of the housing development along Bay Street, many of whom declined to provide their names to The Herald News out of fear of retribution, described Jimmy as "a quiet guy" who enjoyed Heineken beer.

"I talked to him at like nine o'clock, he said he was going to the store to get some beer, to get some Heinekens, and that I should come over and hang out," said a friend who only identified himself as Michael. "I'm still in shock. I wonder what happened. He was a good kid - he wasn't a troublemaker or nothing. I can't believe that one minute he's here and then one minute he's gone. He was just a quiet kid who always had Heinekens."

Michael said Jimmy was living with a woman in Sunset Hill. Other residents said he had a 4-year-old child and was expecting another.

Around noon on Tuesday friends began to gather outside the apartment where Jimmy lay dead the night before to create a makeshift memorial. About a dozen people gathered to lay flowers and light candles, and one man who declined to give his name poured the contents of a Heineken bottle on the bloodstains that remained on the sidewalk.

As police from Fall River and the state police milled about the housing development Tuesday morning, friends and residents said they did not know what could have led to the shooting.

"I woke up this morning and called [Jimmy] to see if he knew what happened," an unidentified friend said. "Now I want to know why my best friend is dead."

Another man who said he was a friend threatened to retaliate against "whoever it is that did this."

Residents also reported that police raided at least one apartment at approximately 8:30 a.m., saying police located possible evidence in the form of discarded gloves and a sweater near Pokross and Bowen streets.

A number of residents who did not see the shooting said they are not surprised something like this would happen due to the well-known presence of drug dealers.

"The police should be doing something," said a man who identified himself as Dave. "During the daytime, there are people selling crack like it's a candy store. It's ridiculous. ... There are supposed to be cops strolling around the block, but you barely see them."

E-mail Will Richmond at [email protected].

_©The Herald News 2006_


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