Mother & Son Charged In Connection With Murder of Teen Joshua Vazquez

NEW HAVEN, CT — Joshua Vazquez was just 16 when he was shot and killed 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, and the Metropolitan Business Academy student was gunned down.

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

On Dec. 19, 2022, at about 4:20 p.m., ShotSpotter alerted four rounds of gunfire in the area of Harper Avenue and Valley Street followed by a 911 caller reporting that a person had been shot. Officers found Vazquez laying on the ground, and he 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.

Here's what cops said happened that day:

Crime scene detectives collected ballistic evidence from the scene. Major Crimes Detectives collected surveillance video from the area and spoke with several witnesses who reported hearing gunfire and seeing a black SUV fleeing the scene. One of the witnesses provided
Detectives with license plate information that was attached to the black SUV. Surveillance video from the area depicted the SUV travel near Joshua as he rode his bike near Harper Avenue and Valley Street when one of the occupants of the vehicle fired gunshots at Joshua striking him, causing him to fall off his bike. A license plate reader inquiry revealed the license plate information was linked to Toyota RAV 4. The license plate inquiry also revealed the RAV 4 was captured by license plate readers in Bridgeport Connecticut on December 19th and 20th.

So, after a years-long investigation, which police said included multiple formal interviews, surveillance footage analysis, license plate readers and cellular information captured in New Haven and Bridgeport, and in collaboration with Department of Corrections and the
Department of Probation and assistance of the New Haven Police Intelligence Unit, Detective Maegan Moran was able to positively identify Latasha Brown, 46, of Bridgeport, as the operator of the Toyota RAV4, conspirator Ronald Miller, 59, of New Haven, and Brown's son Angleo Gibson, now 19 then 17, as the person responsible for the fatal shooting of Joshua Vazquez.

Gibson, who was arrested July 17, is charged with Murder, Carrying a Pistol without a Permit, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Pistol/Revolver, Weapon in a Motor Vehicle, Risk of Injury to a Minor, five counts, and Reckless Endangerment in the 1st Degree. His mother, Latasha Brown was charged with Hindering Prosecution and Criminal Liability for Acts of Another/Murder. Miller was charged with Tampering with Evidence.