Both sides paint starkly different version of events in Taunton home invasion
TAUNTON — The 22-year-old New Bedford suspect in a violent armed home invasion in Taunton was ordered held without bail at his dangerousness hearing Wednesday in Taunton District Court.
“The government has proved that detention is warranted,” Taunton District Court Judge William Farrell said.
Joshua Deleon will remain in custody pending a probable cause hearing in connection with the Dec. 22 incident at Newcomb Place in Taunton that left a resident with a gunshot wound to the leg and Deleon himself with a head injury bad enough that he was flown to a Boston hospital, police said.
According to Taunton Police reports, on that night, the suspect allegedly shot a man in New Bedford and then less than an hour later shot his brother in Taunton during the home invasion, while looking for a third brother.
What happened at the dangerousness hearing?
Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Charles Schofield played the 911 call from that night and showed body cam footage from Taunton Police that recorded what they saw and heard when entering the second floor apartment at 29 Newcomb Place and placing Deleon under arrest.
Schofield also presented 49 photographs, including images of firearms, the armor-plated vest Deleon was allegedly wearing in the apartment, bite marks on one of the resident's arms, bullet holes made from one of the firearms, and the general interior images of the apartment showing the “sheer amount of blood and shell casings” found that night.
In addition to the armored vest, Schofield also said Taunton Police found a "micro-conversion kit" at the scene, which witnesses said Deleon brought with him, Schofield said. This kit essentially turns a handgun into a rifle, making it more powerful and accurate.
“He went in prepared for the home being full of people,” said Schofield, adding the alleged victims, as well as the rest of the six people total who reside in the Newcomb Place apartment are “terrified of him” right now.
Schofield made the case that it wasn’t safe to release Deleon from custody, not just because of the facts surrounding the case, but his prior record of gun, drug and violence-related offenses both as a juvenile and adult in New Bedford, Schofield said.
“There are no conditions of release this court can set” that will ensure the safety of the alleged victims and community, Schofield said.
“He clearly won’t adhere to the rules of society.”
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Defense questions sequence of events
But the suspect's attorney, Colleen Tynan, raised questions about the sequence of events.
"I suspect more to this story than the Commonwealth is able to tell us, probably because they don’t know it yet,” Tynan said.
She referenced a Taunton police report that said residents of the apartment told detectives the man who was shot received a phone call 5-10 minutes before Deleon’s arrival warning that someone was coming to the apartment to shoot him. It was pointed out there were no signs of forced entry, and the doors, both to the building, and to the apartment, were unlocked that night.
“Why would all those doors be unlocked?” asked Tynan.
She points out that nowhere in the body cam footage do you see Deleon holding a firearm.
“He’s the only one without a firearm in the footage,” adding there is also no footage of him entering the building or apartment.
Regarding the shooting that took place in New Bedford, she emphasized that Deleon has not, at least at the time of the hearing and writing of this article, been brought up on charges, and that it is still under investigation by New Bedford Police.
Tynan said “there was evidence of drug activity” in the Taunton apartment, such as a beam scale seen in one of the images provided by the prosecution.
Based on the evidence, it's reasonable to suspect her client didn’t come to the apartment to launch an attack, but that he arrived and was attacked, Tynan said.
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What is Deleon charged with?
Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon
Assault and battery
Assault with a dangerous weapon
Armed assault with intent to murder
Possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony
Home invasion
Possession of ammunition without an FID card
Use of body armor in the commission of a felony
Possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number
Discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling
What happened on the night of Dec. 22?
On the night of Dec. 22, at 9:15 p.m., New Bedford police were dispatched to St. Luke’s Hospital regarding a man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Jovante Matthews, according to a Taunton police report. Matthews declined to speak with police, but a witness told them Matthews met up with “someone he doesn’t like” in the North End of New Bedford.
The witness identified a person named “Chapo” as the one who shot Matthews, the police report said. "Chapo" is known to New Bedford police to be Joshua Deleon, the Taunton police report says.
Then, just before 10 p.m., Taunton police received a 911 phone call from Jovante Matthews' mother, saying "Chapo" had just shot her son in New Bedford and was driving to Taunton to shoot her other son, Justice Matthews, who lives with her at 29 Newcomb Place.
Officers kicked down the door of the second floor while Deleon and Justice Matthews were struggling on the ground in a side bedroom, police said. Police drew their guns and ordered the two to stop fighting. Justice Matthews had a gunshot wound to the leg and Deleon had a head injury.
A resident told police Deleon hit both her and Justice Matthews on the head with his firearm after stating “I will kill all of you.”
She said Deleon was looking for another Matthews brother, with Deleon even placing a call to someone on his cellphone asking for the other brother’s whereabouts.
Deleon, she said, had brought two firearms with him, with one of them eventually being put down on the nearby dinner table.
A physical altercation commenced between Deleon and Justice Matthews, with Deleon’s firearm discharged, hitting Matthews in one of his legs, according to the police reports.
The resident said she jumped on Deleon’s back to try to stop him and he bit deep into one of her arms in an effort to get her to let go, the police report said.
She said more gunshots were fired during the struggle, but no one in the room was hit.
She said she grabbed the second gun that was left on the dinner table and struck Deleon with it in the back of his head, according to the police report. This was when Deleon fell to the ground, and she and Justice Matthews were then able to overpower him and keep him pinned down.
Justice Matthews told police that it was Deleon who shot him in the leg, the report says.
What's next?
The next hearing for Deleon is a probable cause hearing scheduled for Feb. 14.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: New Bedford suspect in Taunton home invasion suspect ruled dangerous
