Man charged in connection to shooting of New Bedford police detective pleads guilty

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said a man charged in connection to the shooting of an undercover New Bedford police detective has pled guilty.

22-year-old Cheybane Vasconcelos-Furtado, of New Bedford, pled guilty for being an accessory after the fact of an assault and battery with a firearm, and was sentenced three to five years in Massachusetts State Prison.

On July 17, 2023, around 8:28 p.m., two victims were shot at the intersection of Rivet Street and Orchard Street from a drive-by shooting.

According to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Detective Lavar Gilbert was struck in the face and Anthony Ruiz was shot in the foot.

Surveillance video showed Vasconcelos-Furtado entering the drivers’ seat of a 2014 Honda Acord, which detectives identified as the suspect vehicle, just after 8 p.m.

At 8:20 p.m., video showed the defendant picking up three men, who then drove around New Bedford.

At the intersection of Rivet Street and Orchard Street, a back seat passenger “produced a firearm and shot several rounds from the vehicle,” according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

During the investigation, police discovered two spent shell casings in the area.

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said the following day, the vehicle was found in Rhode Island with Vasconcelos’ fingerprints on the front driver’s side of the car.

One week later, the defendant was arrested and held without bail.