Brockton Man Gets Prison Time for Killing New Bedford Man

BROCKTON — A Brockton man who shot and killed a New Bedford man in 2019 has been sentenced to at least 20 years in state prison, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.

Quieto Miranda, 32, was sentenced Thursday in the shooting death of 32-year-old Earl Thomas of New Bedford after being convicted earlier this month on second degree murder and firearms charges.

Miranda is considered an armed career criminal due to a 2016 conviction in Plymouth Superior Court for heroin trafficking, the D.A.'s office noted.

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Thomas was killed on Highland Street in Brockton on May 24, 2019 just before 11:30 p.m., when police were alerted by the city's automated gunshot detection system.

First responders arrived to find Thomas suffering from four gunshot wounds in a parking lot at 47 Highland St. and rushed him to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Miranda was arrested two days later in Worcester following a short homicide investigation by Brockton and state police as well as the D.A.'s office.

The office said that Judge Robert Gordon adopted recommendations from prosecutors when he imposed a sentence of 20 years to life in prison on Miranda.

"I would like to commend the efforts of the Brockton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police," Plymouth County D.A. Timothy Cruz said.

"This case would not have been solved without the community stepping up to contribute information, whether it was large or small," he added. "Brockton is a safer community every day because of efforts like we saw throughout this investigation and prosecution."