Three of the highest ranking members of Fall River’s Mafioso Street Gang have been indicted in connection with a previously unsolved 2005 double shooting

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

FALL RIVER —

Three of the highest ranking members of Fall River’s Mafioso Street Gang have been indicted in connection with a previously unsolved 2005 double shooting outside the former Regatta night club on Davol Street, District Attorney Sam Sutter said Wednesday.

Michael Peralta, 28; Nigel Vaughn, 25; and Jared Robinson, 28, all formerly of Fall River, have been indicted by a Bristol County Grand Jury, and each charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count each of carrying an illegal firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

On March 27, 2005, at approximately 2 a.m., Fall River Police were called to the scene of a shooting outside The Regatta. Upon arrival, police located two gunshot victims, a 23-year-old man from Quincy who was shot in the back and a 24-year-old man from Brockton who was shot in the foot, according to Herald News archives. Both men were rushed to local hospitals and eventually recovered from their wounds.

Sutter said that because the case is only at the arraignment stage, his office would release no further details regarding the lengthy investigation until arraignments are held next month.

Peralta, the alleged leader and founder of the Mafioso Street Gang, is currently serving a 15-year federal prison sentence after being convicted in 2007 of state and federal gun and drug charges.
Vaughn is currently serving an 18 to 20 year state prison sentence after being convicted in 2007 for the April 2005 shooting of three people inside the former Larry’s Sports Pub on Morgan Street.

Peralta and Vaughn will be arraigned on the new indictment in Fall River Superior Court on Sept. 10. Robinson will be arraigned on Sept. 23.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne, the chief of Sutter’s Major Violators Unit, will be prosecuting the cases. Gagne worked closely with Fall River Police Det. Lawrence Ferreira to bring this investigation to a close and obtain the indictments, Sutter said.

“This incident exemplifies the tenacity of the Fall River Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office relative to gangs and gun violence. The Major Crimes Division, in particular Detective Lawrence Ferreira, never lost sight of the seriousness and significance of this shooting. Gun violence is not only an assault on the injured, but an assault on the entire community,” Fall River Police Chief Daniel Racine said.

“We are pleased to finally provide some measure of justice and closure to the two men that were shot and seriously wounded. I applaud and commend Detective Ferreira and Assistant District Attorney Steve Gagne for their determination, dedication and persistence.”

“I agree wholeheartedly with Chief Racine about the tenacity that was displayed here by the Fall River Police Department and our office,” Sutter said. “I also agree with him wholeheartedly about the ramifying impact of gun violence. It starts with the damage — generally life changing — it does to the person who is shot. But it ramifies to damage the lives of the family of the victim, the lives of those living in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred and the flow of business and commerce in the community. That is why we have been so aggressive and resolute about this critical issue since I became District Attorney,” Sutter said...