New Haven Man, 21, Gets 28 Years For December 2022 Murder Of 16-Year-Old Student Joshua Vazquez: State's Atty

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Superior Court judge sentenced a New Haven man to serve 28 years in prison, followed by 10 years of special parole, for the Dec. 19, 2022 murder in New Haven of Joshua Jose Vazquez, 16, of New Haven, according to New Haven Judicial District State’s Attorney John P. Doyle, Jr.

Angelo Gibson, Jr., 21, pleaded guilty to one count of murder.

As reported by Patch, Vazquez, a then-Metropolitan Business Academy student, was gunned down days before Christmas 2022. He was riding his bike on Valley Street in his West Hills neighborhood when a car rolled up, an "altercation ensued," cops described at the time, and the teen was shot.

When cops got to the scene, Vazquez, who was found lying on the ground, was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Soon after, New Haven police announced another teen, Gibson, then 17, shot and killed the kid who was a Resident Services Youth Volunteer Program member, and that suspect, cops said at the time, was assisted by his mother in the commission of the crime.

Doyle said this week that the investigation showed Gibson was a passenger in a car driven by his mother, Latasha Brown. Gibson "opened fire on the victim as he crossed the street on a bicycle."

The mother, Brown, was charged in connection with the shooting and later gave police a statement identifying her son "as the shooter," Doyle said. Brown, who pleaded out to charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence, was sentenced to 15 years. That term will be suspended after she serves 2 ½ years, court records show.

As reported, Vazquez was featured in a summer 2020 New Haven Independent story about the kids' good works. Those included "cutting the lawns of seniors and residents with disabilities, cleaning the streets, distributing the community newsletter, cleaning up yards and bike paths and debris from Hurricane Isaias, and distributing food boxes to neighbors."

In a news release, Doyle extended his condolences to the family of Joshua Vazquez.