In a chilling account of domestic violence that culminated in tragedy, Alphanso Richards, a 62-year-old New Bedford man, has confessed to the cold-blooded murder of his son-in-law outside an auto repair shop. In an act that has rocked the community, Richards executed the fatal shooting in the presence of his daughter and grandchildren, an event that left an indelible scar on the family. The incident that unfolded on August 9, 2021, was captured on surveillance video, marking the horror of that day in unforgiving detail.
After pleading guilty to second-degree murder and attempted assault and battery with a firearm, Richards has been sentenced to serve 19 ½ years in prison for the first charge and a concurrent sentence of eight to 10 years for the assault on his daughter, as reported by the MassLive and NBC Boston. The latter publication detailed the subsequent efforts to apprehend Richards, who had initially fled, only to be caught in Virginia, where his registered gun, later confirmed as the murder weapon, was found in his possession.
Richards' daughter, Tiamara Michel-Brown, witnessed the horror unfold as her husband, 23-year-old Naurik Michel-Brown, was shot and subsequently died from his injuries. The family had simply been attending to a vehicle at the Car Tunes shop when tragedy struck. Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn described the offense in stark terms, stating, "This is another senseless act of violence committed in broad daylight with total disregard for the safety of the victims and the public that have left three children without a father and impacted the family forever," as noted by NBC Boston.
The defendant's attempt to evade justice was short-lived. Initially elusive after the shooting, Richards was eventually apprehended on October 10, 2021, when he was spotted recklessly driving on Interstate 95. Following what was possibly a routine traffic stop, law enforcement made the critical discovery of the firearm used in the New Bedford shooting. The charges brought against Richards and his subsequent guilty plea have finally brought a measure of closure to a case that has lurked in the shadows, affecting not just the immediate family but casting a pall over the community, which demands to confront the specter of familial violence and its resultant trauma.
