New Bedford and Fall River Men Sentenced to Life for Taunton Murder

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — The two men convicted last month of the 2019 murder of Justin Paulo in Taunton have both been sentenced to life in prison.

Jerome Middleton of Fall River and Khaylon Cruz of New Bedford were convicted on October 31 of first degree murder (under theories of extreme atrocity and cruelty and felony murder) and armed robbery following a six-day trial in Fall River Superior Court.

On November 20, the two men were both sentenced by Judge Rene Dupuis to life in prison. Cruz was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, while Middleton has the possibility of parole after 30 years.

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Cruz also received a six-to-10-year sentence on the armed robbery charge.

Middleton, who is currently serving a state prison sentence of nine to 12 years for an unrelated armed robbery, will begin his life sentence upon completion of his current one. He was also sentenced to six to 10 years on the armed robbery charge in relation to the robbery and murder of Paulo.

READ MORE: New Bedford and Fall River Men Convicted of Taunton Murder

The charges date back to January 5, 2019 when at about 11 p.m., Taunton Police were dispatched to 9 Wilson Street for a man being attacked in the yard. He was identified as Justin Paulo, 31, who had been stabbed and robbed of his gold chain.

Paulo was transported from the scene by family members and later pronounced deceased a short time later at arriving at Rhode Island Hospital.

The D.A.’s Office said surveillance footage from a Ring doorbell camera at 9 Wilson Street “captured significant portions of the attack committed by two suspects” later determined to be Cruz, who was 24 at the time, and Middleton, who was 19.

READ MORE: New Bedford, Fall River Men Arrested in Taunton Murder

Both men fled the scene but later reconnected at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, where Middleton went for medical treatment for injuries sustained during the attack on Paulo. The two then left the hospital together.

A knife was recovered from the scene of the crime that contained the DNA of both Paulo and Middleton.

Four days after the murder, Middleton was apprehended in Brockton and Cruz was arrested at the Dartmouth Motor Inn in Dartmouth.

“This was a brutal murder that occurred during a violent armed robbery in which the victim resisted his attackers. A good portion of the incident was captured on a Ring doorbell camera which highlights the critical importance of technology in solving violent crimes. I want to thank the prosecution team for their efforts in putting this case together which resulted in a significant conviction,” District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said.