Case Profiles #95
Alessia Mesquita and Antonio Jones
Alessia Mesquita was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. She worked at the Home Depot to help put herself through a higher level of education as she had always wanted to go into the medical field. She became a medical assistant and had the perfect personality to be working in healthcare as she was kind, caring and adored her coworkers and patients. She was very proud of working so hard to get to her goal of working in healthcare, and she was also very proud of her Portuguese and Puerto Rican heritage. She would often say she “had the best of both worlds." Alessia had a beautiful baby girl with her boyfriend Rashod Newton, who she unfortunately had a very tumultuous relationship with. There were multiple reports of domestic violence with a previous warrant filed after Rashod shot and wounded the boyfriend of Alessia’s roommate as he was trying to break up a fight between Rashod and Alessia. The warrant was never served.
On March 22nd, 2021, police were notified that a person had been shot at the area of Lenox Street and Clifton Street in New Haven, Connecticut and arrived on scene at around 9:30 a.m. to find the body of a young woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene and was identified as 28-year-old Alessia. Video surveillance footage showed Alessia getting out of a grey Toyota Camry, going to open the back seat and then chasing the car after it sped away with the car door still open. The driver then turned down Clifton Street, stopped, and got out of the vehicle to fire six shots at Alessia. Four of the bullets struck her. Police found baby items like diapers and wipes among her bags of belongings, and it seems as though Alessia was attempting to get her 1-year-old daughter out of the back seat when the driver sped away and she chased after the car. Police were able to locate Alessia’s daughter and take her safely into custody and arrest Rashod. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her murder as well as multiple other assault related charges in January of 2023. While Alessia’s family, who was now raising her daughter, were relieved to see her get justice, their relief was short lived.
Before her little brother, 20-year-old Antonio Jones, could see his sister’s killer be sentenced, he too was shot and killed. On September 28th, 2022, Antonio had just let his mom Sandy know he was getting ready to head home when the alley he and his friends had been hanging out with was suddenly lit up with gunfire. Antonio and his friends were on the corner of Ferry Street and Limerick, a one-block road in Fair Haven, Connecticut when a drive by shooting erupted at just before 11:00 p.m. Antonio was struck by the gunfire, and in the chaos of people running and trying to get away, a driver in a car that was on the same street sped off and hit Antonio. He was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he died overnight from the injuries he sustained in both the car accident and the shooting. Antonio had been looking forward to becoming an auto body mechanic and was planning on enrolling in technical school for this. Growing up, he loved dirt bikes and motorcycles and was a talented bike rider. Anyone with any information on the murder of Antonio Jones is asked to please call the New Haven police department at (203) 946-6333.
Jovann Vergara
On December 9th, 2019, Maria Rivera was at home when she got a call on her phone from a number she did not recognize. When she answered, she heard her son on the other end. 21-year-old Jovann Vergara was calling from a borrowed phone to tell her that he was on his way home from his stepfather’s house in Springfield, Massachusetts and that he had gotten a ride. When the night rolled past and Jovann never came home, Maria became concerned as his belongings like his wallet, ID and most importantly his insulin for his Type 1 Diabetes were at home with her. She filed a missing persons report when he still hadn’t come home several days later. Maria would occasionally receive calls from people with claims that they had seen Jovann, or that they had recognized someone in his clothing. Unfortunately, these tips that would “send her on a wild goose chase” never amounted to anything. Most hauntingly, Maria had access to Jovann’s health insurance account, and since his disappearance, there has been no activity as far as filling prescriptions, like for his insulin.
To this day, there have been no leads on where Jovann could have gone. At the time of his disappearance, Jovann Vergara was 5’6” - 5’7”, weighing roughly 160-170 pounds. He has light brown hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and white sneakers. He has the names “Maria” and “Juana” tattooed along his chest, as well as dollar signs with the initials “JV” on both ear lobes and a tattoo of a Pokemon. If you or anyone you know has seen Jovann Vergara, please contact the Springfield Police Department at 413-787-6300.
Image sources:
nbcconnecticut.com - “Loved Ones Mourn New Haven Mother Shot and Killed”
washingtonmemorialfh.com - “Antonio Maurice Jones”
masslive.com - “Family of Jovann Vergara of Springfield, missing for nearly two months, renews plea for information”