Jerome Middleton of Fall River and Khaylon Cruz of New Bedford were sentenced Wednesday afternoon for First-Degree Murder (under theories of extreme atrocity and cruelty and felony murder) and Armed Robbery for the brutal killing of Justin Paulo in the City of Taunton on January 5, 2019, following a 6-day jury trial in the Fall River Superior Court late last month.
Cruz was given concurrent sentences of six years in prison for armed robbery and life in prison for murder by Superior Court Judge Rene Dupuis.
Dupuis gave Middleton consecutive sentences of six years to ten years for the armed robbery offense and thirty years to life with the possibility of parole for the murder accusation.
The Taunton Police were called to 9 Wilson Street at around 11:00 p.m. on January 5, 2019, when a guy was attacked in the yard, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. After being taken from the scene by family members, the attacker was identified as 31-year-old Justin Paulo. Paulo had lost his gold chain and been stabbed. Shortly after arriving at Rhode Island Hospital, he was declared dead.
Significant parts of the incident were caught on surveillance footage from a ring doorbell camera at 9 Wilson Street. The suspects were eventually identified as 19-year-old Jerome Middleton and 24-year-old Khaylon Cruz. After leaving the scene, the defendants briefly rejoined at Fall River’s Charlton Memorial Hospital, where Middleton had first sought medical attention for injuries he had incurred in the attack on Justin Paulo. Together, the two defendants departed Charlton Memorial Hospital.
Both Justin Paulo’s and defendant Jerome Middleton’s DNA were found on a knife that was found at the crime scene.
Assistant District Attorneys Jason Mohan and Daniel Walsh prosecuted the case.
District Attorney Quinn expressed his satisfaction that the jury found both defendants guilty of this heinous and horrific murder.
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