Bristol County District Attorney's Office

Bristol County District Attorney's Office The Official page for Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn's Office District Attorney Thomas M.
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Welcome to the Official page of the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Quinn was officially sworn in on January 5th, 2015. Under the leadership of DA Quinn, the office has successfully prosecuted some of the most prominent criminal cases in the country. The office has made strides in a number of initiatives including deterring gun violence, creating a one of a kind Elder Financial

Exploitation and Abuse Unit, solving cold case homicides and sexual assaults from decades past, successfully enhanced victim services, and improved prosecution and prevention in special victims units. For more information on the office and what's happening across Bristol County, visit www.bristolda.com

One of our absolute favorite events of the summer!  DA Quinn and Communift Affairs Unit staffer, Brian Rose, were the gu...
07/19/2024

One of our absolute favorite events of the summer! DA Quinn and Communift Affairs Unit staffer, Brian Rose, were the guest speaker’s at yesterday’s Attleboro Council on Aging Ice Cream Social. Thank you to this wonderful group for a great afternoon!

DA Quinn had the honor to march in this weekend’s Cape Verdean Day parade. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said...
07/12/2024

DA Quinn had the honor to march in this weekend’s Cape Verdean Day parade. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and said hello!

Happy Independence Day!DA Quinn had the honor of marching in today’s parade in Westport, alongside Rep. Paul Schmid and ...
07/05/2024

Happy Independence Day!

DA Quinn had the honor of marching in today’s parade in Westport, alongside Rep. Paul Schmid and family.

I'm very saddened to hear about the passing of Paul Walsh. During his 16 years as district attorney Paul oversaw the pro...
07/03/2024

I'm very saddened to hear about the passing of Paul Walsh. During his 16 years as district attorney Paul oversaw the prosecution of a number of significant cases. These included the successful prosecution of Father Porter and tragic murders at several local schools. I worked for Paul for more than six years as an assistant district attorney. During that time, I appreciated the support and confidence he showed in me by promoting me and allowing me to prosecute serious cases. I also appreciate his support during my time as the district attorney. Paul was a regular guy who identified with the average citizen. He and his family have left a lasting legacy in the City of New Bedford and beyond through their many contributions to the community. May his soul rest in peace.

-DA Quinn

Our annual Bristol County Celebration of Seniors event on Friday was another smashing success.  White’s of Westport was ...
06/16/2024

Our annual Bristol County Celebration of Seniors event on Friday was another smashing success. White’s of Westport was jam packed with seniors, loved ones and 70 different vendors who provide services to the elderly. Our seniors have done so much for our community. They deserve to be acknowledged and protected.

DA Quinn, Victim Witness Advocate Michael Santos and others from the office took part in Monday’s Memorial Day Parade in...
05/29/2024

DA Quinn, Victim Witness Advocate Michael Santos and others from the office took part in Monday’s Memorial Day Parade in New Bedford.

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit was at the Cedar Dell residence to present our elder frau and scam prevention...
05/15/2024

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit was at the Cedar Dell residence to present our elder frau and scam prevention program to a great group of seniors.

DA Quinn and Community Affairs Unit staffer, Brian Rose, were at the Tansey Elementary School in Fall River to give an A...
05/10/2024

DA Quinn and Community Affairs Unit staffer, Brian Rose, were at the Tansey Elementary School in Fall River to give an Anti-Bullying Presentation with the 5th grade class!

DA Quinn and Second Assistant DA Jen Sowa providing a Social Media Presentation at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfie...
05/09/2024

DA Quinn and Second Assistant DA Jen Sowa providing a Social Media Presentation at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfield on Tuesday. The students were very attentive and asked some great questions.

DA Quinn addressed the Coastline Elderly Services Money Management Program volunteers at a Volunteer Appreciation Lunche...
05/08/2024

DA Quinn addressed the Coastline Elderly Services Money Management Program volunteers at a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon last week. The District Attorney is a long time support of this program that assists older consumers who have difficulty managing their finances.

Chief of our District Court Unit, Kyle McPherson, presented ADA Nicole Cheney with the Massachusetts District Attorneys ...
04/30/2024

Chief of our District Court Unit, Kyle McPherson, presented ADA Nicole Cheney with the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association Spotlight Award last week. This yearly award allows each DA to showcase one prosecutor, regardless of years of service, by putting them in the “spotlight” to thank the ADA publicly for a job well done. Congratulations, Nicole!

DA Quinn today presented New Bedford District Court Supervisor Eric DrMoura with a plaque in recognition of his 5 years ...
04/25/2024

DA Quinn today presented New Bedford District Court Supervisor Eric DrMoura with a plaque in recognition of his 5 years with the office. Eric is leaving to pursue another opportunity in the Trial Court.m and will be sorely missed.

DA Quinn and ADA Patrick Driscoll were invited guests of the Fall River Rotary Club yesterday.  They presented the group...
04/12/2024

DA Quinn and ADA Patrick Driscoll were invited guests of the Fall River Rotary Club yesterday. They presented the group with facts and insights into gang activity in our urban areas and how our office is targeting the worst offenders.

DA Quinn and Second Assistant DA Jen Sowa speaking to the junior and senior class at Bishop Stang High School this morni...
04/09/2024

DA Quinn and Second Assistant DA Jen Sowa speaking to the junior and senior class at Bishop Stang High School this morning about changes in the law upon turning 18 and the potential consequences that come along with graduating into adulthood. Wishing these teens the best as they begin their journeys beyond high school.

DA Quinn, 2nd Assistant ADA Jennifer Sowa and Community Affairs Unit staffer Brian Rose were all at the Holy Trinity Sch...
04/06/2024

DA Quinn, 2nd Assistant ADA Jennifer Sowa and Community Affairs Unit staffer Brian Rose were all at the Holy Trinity School in Fall River to speak with sixth to eighth graders about the growing dangers of social media and bullying.

Brian Rose of our Community Affairs Unit was at the Saint Joseph School in Fairhaven last week to present our interactiv...
03/26/2024

Brian Rose of our Community Affairs Unit was at the Saint Joseph School in Fairhaven last week to present our interactive anti-bullying workshop to a great group of students!

DA Quinn, Courtney Cahill (Chief of our Domestic Violence Unit) and Taunton District Court prosecutor Brandon Ferris wer...
03/21/2024

DA Quinn, Courtney Cahill (Chief of our Domestic Violence Unit) and Taunton District Court prosecutor Brandon Ferris were in Boston last night joining with the Celtics to celebrate and promote the 16th Annual Massachusetts White Ribbon Day Campaign. Male Celtics fans were urged to take the pledge, be positive role models in their own lives, to speak out for human rights, and for the safety and liberty of survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
The Massachusetts White Ribbon Day Campaign calls upon men to be part of the solution in ending r**e, sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence.

Amazing turnout this past weekend in New Bedford for our annual free youth baseball clinic with DA staffer and former Re...
03/12/2024

Amazing turnout this past weekend in New Bedford for our annual free youth baseball clinic with DA staffer and former Red Sox pitcher, Brian Rose. Thank you to all the volunteers and the players/coaches from the GNB Voc. Tech High School baseball squad!

On Friday, DA Quinn and several of our staffers joined with Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan, Rep. Carole Fiola, and represe...
03/11/2024

On Friday, DA Quinn and several of our staffers joined with Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan, Rep. Carole Fiola, and representatives from SSTAR and HealthFirst, to commemorate White Ribbon Day. The White Ribbon Campaign is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. We hope you will take the White Ribbon Pledge with us!

DA Quinn taking part in Read Across America Day yesterday at the Spencer Borden School in Fall River.
03/06/2024

DA Quinn taking part in Read Across America Day yesterday at the Spencer Borden School in Fall River.

The first signs of Spring are in the air, and that means baseball season is coming soon.  Join us the next two Saturdays...
03/03/2024

The first signs of Spring are in the air, and that means baseball season is coming soon. Join us the next two Saturdays in New Bedford and Fall River for our annual free baseball clinics with former Red Sox pitcher, Brian Rose!

Brian will be assisted by members of the BMC Durfee High School baseball team, the GNB Voc Tech High School baseball teams, coaches from both squads and volunteers from DA Quinn’s office.

Hope to see you there!

The best good boy in Bristol County!
03/01/2024

The best good boy in Bristol County!

DA Quinn attended a naturalization ceremony at the Immigrants Assistance Center in New Bedford.  The ceremony was presid...
02/28/2024

DA Quinn attended a naturalization ceremony at the Immigrants Assistance Center in New Bedford. The ceremony was presided over by Judge Raffi Yessayan. Helena Hughes, Director of the Center, was also recognized for her 40 years of service during the event.
Congratulations Helena and thank you for your service to the immigrants of the greater New Bedford area.

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit has been traveling around the public school system in Taunton to give hundred...
02/09/2024

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit has been traveling around the public school system in Taunton to give hundreds of students our anti-bullying presentation. During the last couple of weeks, we’ve been at the Elizabeth Pole School, the Chamberlain Elementary School, the Friedman Middle School and the Galligan Middle School.

DA Quinn was with a fantastic group of elders at the Niagara Senior Center last week.  The DA met with them to provide t...
02/05/2024

DA Quinn was with a fantastic group of elders at the Niagara Senior Center last week. The DA met with them to provide them with his updates senior scam prevention program.

Another Cold Case CrackedDA Quinn’s Cold Case Unit has identified the killer of a 20-year-old Newport, RI man, who was g...
02/01/2024

Another Cold Case Cracked

DA Quinn’s Cold Case Unit has identified the killer of a 20-year-old Newport, RI man, who was gunned down at the Brickenwood Housing Project in New Bedford on October 25, 1991.

The killer has now been positively identified as Claudio Jorge. The chief suspect in the 1991 slaying of Brent Davis has also been confirmed as being deceased. Jorge was killed in the Dominican Republic in 2006 while being robbed. He was 40-years-old at the time of his killing.

“I’m very pleased with the efforts of our Cold Case Unit, that after further investigation, has led to the identification of Claudio Jorge as the individual who murdered Brent Davis in 1991. This case further shows our office does not give up on solving cold cases and will continue to put resources into investigations of cold case homicides,” DA Quinn said. “I’d like to thank Trooper Kate Sullivan for her efforts in the case that brought closure to the victim’s family after all these years. I’m especially grateful that we were able to bring some peace to Mr. Davis’ mother after all these years.”


As part of District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit, Katherine Sullivan, a Massachusetts State Police Trooper assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s office, began re-investigating the 1991 homicide of Brent Davis in the fall of 2020. At the time of the 19991 homicide, witnesses to the shooting identified the suspect as an individual named “Bobby.” Investigators at the time created a sketch composite of the suspect and were able to identify two relatives of the suspect who were living in New Bedford. Those relatives claimed “Bobby” was also known as “Reynaldo Suriel” and that he was from New York City.

Attempts to locate this individual were unsuccessful. The case then went cold and no arrest was made.

As part of her recent follow up investigation, Trooper Sullivan determined that “Reynaldo Suriel” was likely an alias and that the identity of “Bobby” was still unknown.

After reviewing the 1991 reports, Trooper Sullivan located several individuals who either witnessed the shooting or were associated with the suspect “Bobby.” Some of those individuals were subsequently interviewed

As a result of those interviews, investigators learned that Mr. Davis had only been staying in New Bedford for a few days prior to his murder in 1991. Investigators further learned that the homicide was the result of a drug distribution dispute, that “Bobby” was originally from the Dominican Republic and that he fled the city immediately after the killing of Mr. Davis.

Another key witness admitted to investigators that he sold co***ne with “Bobby” at the time and that “Bobby” came to his girlfriend’s apartment immediately after the homicide. Once inside the apartment, “Bobby” stated that Davis was dead and that he needed to get out of town. A second key witness corroborate the previous witness’ statements and said “Bobby” committed the homicide.

As the investigation heated up, Trooper Sullivan, joined by another Trooper from the State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and a New York Police Detective, made contact with the close relative of the suspect who had also previously resided in New Bedford. That close relative said “Bobby,” also known as “Reynaldo Suriel,” was actually Claudio Jorge and that he had been killed in the Domician Republic in 2006. The close relative provided photographs of Mr. Jorge to investigators, which were a match to the composite sketch produced in 1991. The close relative also provided further information to investigators, which showed that “Bobby” was in fact Claudio Jorge and that Claudio Jorge has shot and killed Mr. Davis in 1991.

Our office acquired criminal records for Claudio Jorge and records from the US Marshals and the New York Police Department. Jorge had a lengthy criminal record with narcotics and weapons offenses. Jorge was incarcerated in New York in 1983 for an armed robbery and a shooting, and again in incarcerated in 1988 for narcotics and weapons offenses. The records further showed that Jorge was not incarcerated on October 25, 1991 but was arrested in 1992 in New York and was subsequently deported to the Dominican Republic in 1998.

Subsequently, an NYPD Dominican Republic Liaison detective visited the Jorge family residence in La Vega, Dominican Republic and spoke with Jorge’s aunt, who stated Jorge was deceased and provided an obituary card from 2006.

Following the confirmed identification of Claudio Jorge as “Bobby,” Trooper Sullivan presented two witnesses in the Davis homicide case with photographs of Jorge. Both witnesses stated with certainty that Jorge was the person known as “Bobby” and that he shot Mr. Davis.

Trooper Sullivan located Brent Davis’ mother in Newport, Rhode Island and informed her that investigators had positively identified the individual responsible for her son’s murder and that he was deceased. The victim’s mother was grateful that someone still cared about what happened to her son.

At this point, all investigatory avenues have been exhausted to confirm that Claudio Jorge committed the homicide by firearm of Brent Davis on October 25, 1991 and Jorge is deceased. The cold case has now officially been closed.

Last Friday, DA Quinn and others from the office joined with local legislators, community members and others to take par...
01/30/2024

Last Friday, DA Quinn and others from the office joined with local legislators, community members and others to take part in the Children's Advocacy Center of Bristol County annual Legislative Breakfast at White’s of Westport. The DA is pictured here with the CAC’s Co-Executive Directors, Lara Stone and Cathy Rutkowski.

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit was out at the Mulcahey Elementary School in Taunton to give the students our...
01/16/2024

Brian Rose from our Community Affairs Unit was out at the Mulcahey Elementary School in Taunton to give the students our anti-bullying presentation. Was a great group of youngsters!

After serving for 17 years as the First Assistant and Deputy District Attorney in Bristol County, William McCauley will ...
12/29/2023

After serving for 17 years as the First Assistant and Deputy District Attorney in Bristol County, William McCauley will be retiring from state service at the end of the calendar year.

McCauley, who also worked as a prosecutor in Plymouth County for 11 years before joining the Bristol County District Attorney’s office in 2007, was the lead prosecutor in the successful murder prosecution of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez.

During his tenure in Bristol County, McCauley headed up the Cold Case Unit and, with the assistance of a great team he helped to assemble, was responsible for helping to solve numerous previously unsolved homicides from prior district attorney administrations. Some of those cold case homicides that are now solved include the 1986 Dartmouth murder of 19-year-old Marni Larkin Roy, the 1988 Fall River murder of 32-year-old Gayle Botelho by serial killer Daniel Tavares, the 2002 New Bedford murder of Marlene Rose, the 1991 Attleboro murder of Ismael Rencinos-Garcia and the 2001 New Bedford murder of Rose Marie Moniz. In all, during his time leading the Cold Case Unit, McCauley helped to solve more than a dozen cold case homicides.

McCauley was also instrumental in instituting District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III’s highly successful Untested R**e Kit Initiative, along with the office’s new Unidentified Bodies and Missing Persons initiatives. The r**e kit initiative alone resulted in at least three criminal prosecutions for previously unsolved violent r**es and the Unidentified Bodies Initiative has already resulted in the identification of two homicide victims from 2005 and 1981.

During the past several years. McCauley also oversaw the day to day work of District Attorney Quinn’s Special Victims Unit and his work in tracking down serial cold case ra**st Ivan Keith through the use of genealogical and Y-STR DNA resulted in a conviction and a 50 year prison term for the man responsible for multiple r**es in the 1990s.

In his final courtroom prosecution last month, McCauley successfully prosecuted Jonathan Niemic for the 2010 New Bedford stabbing death of Michael Correia.

As stated earlier, McCauley and co-First Assistant District Attorney Patrick O. Bomberg, both investigated, indicted and successfully prosecuted Aaron Hernandez for the 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro.

“I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with Bill for 17 years. His work ethic and dedication to cases to bring justice to victims is second to none. I want to express my appreciation for all of his years of service in both Bristol and Plymouth County that involved significant personal sacrifices over the years,” District Attorney Quinn said. “This was especially true during the successful murder prosecution of Aaron Hernandez. The citizens of both counties and the district attorney’s offices owe him a debt of gratitude. I wish him the best in a well-deserved retirement.”

12/20/2023

New Bedford “Baby Doe” Update:

On Saturday, December 9, 2023, New Bedford Police responded to Fort Taber at approximately 12:40 pm after receiving a 911 call regarding the discovery of a deceased infant. When police arrived on scene, they learned that an adult female was walking along a path near the water with her pre-teen niece when she made observations of a blanket near a thicket of bushes adjacent to the walking path. The woman also detected an odor of decay. The woman approached the blanket and found a white plastic bag wrapped inside of it. The decomposing deceased infant was located inside the plastic bag. When the woman made the discovery, she immediately yelled out about her discovery to two nearby men who were out walking their dog. Subsequently, one of the men called 911.

Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the district attorney’s office and New Bedford Police detectives interviewed the woman and the men after the discovery and there is no reason to believe any of them were involved in the baby’s death.

The body of the infant was subsequently transported to the Massachusetts Medical Examiner’s Office.

As a result of initial DNA testing, investigators have now concluded that “Baby Doe” was a male and was likely deceased for one to four weeks prior to the discovery. The official cause and manner of death is still pending final autopsy results at this time.

As part of the ongoing investigation into the death and discovery of “Baby Doe,” detectives are reviewing several weeks worth of surveillance footage from the surrounding area. Our office has also partnered with a private lab in Texas to perform extensive genealogical and forensic testing of DNA and other evidence collected in this case. Due to the ongoing nature of this probe, our office cannot reveal what other evidence we have obtained and are testing at this time.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III, along with all the investigators in the case, are asking anyone with further information about this case to come forward, either in person or anonymously. Even the smallest tip can often lead to a major break in a case such as this one.

To report a tip, you can contact New Bedford Police at 508-991-6300, call our Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit at 508-961-1901 or submit an anonymous tip via text message by testing the word “Bristol” to the phone number CRIMES (274637).

“This is a terrible tragedy, especially when it occurs during the Christmas season. We should all keep the infant in our prayers,” District Attorney Quinn said. “As part of our efforts, we have expedited and are utilizing advanced forensic technology in an attempt to establish a familial link to the deceased infant. If you have any information about this case, it is imperative that you come forward. No piece of information is insignificant.”

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218 South Main Street
Fall River, MA
02721

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