New Bedford Man Sentenced for Illegal Gun, Domestic Violence

FALL RIVER — A 40-year-old New Bedford man has been sentenced to serve three-to-four years in state prison after pleading guilty to separate indictments charging him with an illegal gun crime in Fairhaven and a violent domestic assault in Dartmouth, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Ezell Carter pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to multiple indictments, charging him with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, one count of witness intimidation, one count of possession of an illegal firearm with two prior convictions, possession of cocaine and possession of heroin.

On April 8, 2016, Fairhaven Police were called to the Huddleston Motel for unruly guests. Once at the motel, police encountered the defendant and his girlfriend. Inside the motel room, police found a .38 handgun on the bed with matching ammunition in the defendant’s backpack. The defendant was also in possession of a small amount of cocaine and heroin.

Then on September 19, 2016, while the defendant was out on bail, he was arrested by Dartmouth Police for the domestic assault and battery. The victim, a 45-year-old woman who is disabled due to a brain injury, was found by police inside her Dartmouth apartment with a bloody lip and redness on her chest. The victim appeared shaken up and was crying when police arrived.

The victim told police the couple had an argument over jewelry, at which point the defendant struck her in the face with his hand and held a knife up to her. When the victim said she was going to call the police, the defendant said he would kill her.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick Driscoll and the three to four year state prison term was imposed by Judge Renee Dupuis.

“The defendant is in illegal possession of a firearm in a hotel room, and then commits a violent assault against his girlfriend, who has a brain injury," District Attorney Quinn said. “Hopefully the sentence will protect the victim and the community from this dangerous defendant.”

--Bristol County District Attorney's Office