Worcester Had 9 Homicides In 2020, Most Due To Gun Violence

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester ended 2020 with nine homicides, which is a drop from the number in 2019 and about average over the last decade, according to police and FBI crime data.

Worcester did not record a homicide in 2020 until the end of May, when Traci Swan, 27, was stabbed in an apparent domestic altercation outside her Meade Street apartment. From there, Worcester experienced a spate of violence in the summer months.

In August, Chief Steven Sargent highlighted that Worcester saw a 31 percent increase in shootings over the summer with 18 total victims. Six of the nine 2020 homicide victims died in shootings, including five in July and August alone.

That matches with crime data reported to the FBI, which says half of the 80 homicides between 2009 and 2019 where a weapon was reported involved a gun.

Gun violence continued into the fall and winter months. Worcester was stunned in October when a 17-year-old, Nawar Jabbar, was shot and killed at the Park Avenue Wendy's.

The final victim in 2020 was 19, and died after a serious stabbing near Kelley Square.

Worcester saw a decade high in homicides in 2019, when 13 people were killed. Meanwhile, 2018 and 2017 were record low years, with five killings each year.

Worcester recorded its first homicide of 2021 on Feb. 1 after Luis Tiru-Romero, who was shot at 6 Mount Pleasant St. on July 9, died at a New York medical facility. Jose Merced, of Worcester, and Anthony Negron, 26, of Camden, N.J., have both been charged in that killing.

Of the nine people who died by homicide in 2020, all but one victim was under age 30. Excluding a murder-suicide, Worcester police have made arrests in all but one of the 2020 homicide cases.

Worcester's 2020 homicide victims

Traci Swan — May 27, Meade Street

Swan, 27, was Worcester's first homicide victim of 2020. She was stabbed while trying to break up an argument between Naomi Lawrence, 29, and the father of Swan's daughter, according to her family. Lawrence has been charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Josue Rios — June 30, Cutler Street

Rios, 29, was stabbed early in the morning on June 30 by Benjamin Willie, 20, according to police. Rios had apparently tried stop Willie from slashing the tires of cars along Cutler Street

Davie Harmon — July 3, Lakeside Avenue

Harmon, 21, a Pleasant Street resident, and another man were shot near 1:30 a.m. on July 30 near a basketball court at the Lakeside Apartments. Police later arrested and charged Javier Moctezuma, 20, of Veterans Avenue, with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Joshua Lopez — July 5, Almont Avenue

Lopez, 24, was shot inside a car along Almont Avenue following a dispute over a restaurant bill. Leroy Thompson Jr. 25, of Almont Avenue, has been arrested and charged with murder.

Darren Dyette — Aug. 3, 38 King St.

Jacob Grice, 35, walked up to Dyette, 31, outside a home along King Street and opened fire, according to prosecutors. Grice and his girlfriend, Amber Gravel, 27, have both been charged with murder.

Quentin Jacobs-Hylton — Aug. 16, 50 Cambridge St.

Jacobs-Hylton, 25, was shot during an altercation with Malek Matos, 34, and Robert Dupuis, 30, according to police. Matos and Dupuis were arrested outside of Massachusetts and charged in September.

Megan McNeil — Aug. 17, Huntington Avenue

McNeil, 27, was the victim of a murder-suicide. Police said her boyfriend, Trey Mahone, shot her on Aug. 17. She died on Aug. 21 at a local hospital.

Nawar Jabbar — Oct. 24, 500 Park Ave.

Jabbar, 17, was found with a fatal gunshot wound at the Park Avenue Wendy's on Oct. 24. Messiah Amankwah, 18, of Gibbs Street, and Diomar Lopez Carrasco, 23, of Spencer, have been charged with murder and accessory to murder after the fact, respectively.

Unidentified victim — Nov. 24, 96 Water St.

Police initially reported this as a serious injury incident, but the victim later died. The 19-year-old was stabbed just before 8 p.m. during a fight between two groups. Police have not made any arrests, and declined to release the victim's name at the request of his family.

Worcester homicides 2009 to 2019

• 2020 — 9
• 2019 — 13
• 2018 — 5
• 2017 — 5
• 2016 — 8
• 2015 — 8
• 2014 — 7
• 2013 — 9
• 2012 — 8
• 2011 — 12
• 2010 — 7
• 2009 — 7

Figures from FBI Crime Data Explorer