IThe Massachusetts Parole Board unanimously granted parole to Justin Gaouette, convicted of second-degree murder in a 2003 New Bedford shooting that killed David Silva over a $20 debt dispute.
According to the Parole Board, in the fall of 2002, Matthew Silva borrowed $20 from 19-year-old Justin Gaouette in New Bedford and, in exchange, promised to help install a radio in Gaouette’s vehicle. In November 2022, Gaouette’s vehicle was involved in an accident, and he no longer wanted the stereo. He wanted his money back instead. Silva did not repay the debt, which incited hostilities between the two men. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2002, Gaouette acquired a handgun. The conflict between the two men continued.
It escalated on New Year’s Eve, when Gaouette threatened to fight Silva upon realizing that the latter did not intend to repay the debt. After a near-fight the day before, tensions continued to mount on New Years Day 2003, when a conversation between the men’s girlfriends about the previous day devolved. Gaouette made a series of threats to fight Silva, which were relayed both through his girlfriend and directly to him…