Repeat Violent Offender Out on Bail in Three Separate Illegal Firearms Cases Arrested for Murder

Repeat Violent Offender Out on Bail in Three Separate Illegal Firearms Cases Arrested for Murder

Springfield, Mass. — On Thursday January 25^th at approximately 10:00 a.m., members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) under the direction of Captain Brian Keenan assisted by members of the Massachusetts State Police VFAS, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force arrested 28-year-old Ethan Fitzgerald of Ludlow near the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Dwight Street on a warrant for the murder of 41-year-old Dwayne Griffith of Springfield.

At approximately 9:20 p.m. on Saturday August 12^th, Springfield Police Officers responded to the area of State and Dresden Streets for a ShotSpotter activation. Officers located an adult male gunshot victim, later identified as Griffith, who was transported to Baystate and later succumbed to his injuries.

The Springfield Police Homicide Unit under the direction of Captain Trent Duda began investigating and identified Fitzgerald as a suspect. On Tuesday January 23^rd, Detectives applied for and were granted a warrant for his arrest. On Thursday morning Fitzgerald was arrested.

In 2017 Fitzgerald was convicted on gun charges. At the time of the murder, Fitzgerald was out on bail with two open gun cases pending in Hampden Superior Court. In March 2021, Fitzgerald was accused of a shooting a gun in the now defunct Magic Lantern parking lot in Palmer. Fitzgerald has another case in Hampden Superior Court stemming from a January 2023 illegal firearm arrest in Holyoke.

After the Homicide in August, on September 20^th, members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit and our partners arrested Fitzgerald and seized two illegal firearms including a Ghost Gun, half a kilogram of cocaine, marijuana, Xanax, heroin and more than $60,000 in cash after executing a search warrant inside an apartment on the 0-100 block of Center Street in Ludlow. Fitzgerald was released on bail.

Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood stated, “When we’re asked what can be done to reduce gun violence, the Mayor and I have been saying the same thing over and over again; hold suspects who are arrested for violent acts and gun charges. To see that this suspect had three open firearms cases in Superior Court and he was still out on the street is astonishing. This simply should not and cannot happen and now a life is lost. I’d like to recognize Captain Duda and his dedicated Homicide Unit for working tirelessly to bring justice to this victim’s family and our Firearms Investigation Unit who located and took this dangerous suspect into custody.”

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno states, “Simply put, if this repeat violent criminal offender had been held on any one of his prior gun related offenses, including firing a gun in public, a life could have been saved. This is a classic example of why the state needs to pass my bail reform legislation, because the current system is broken. Repeat violent criminal offenders keep on getting released back into our community. This individual is a prime example of a serious repeat violent criminal offender, whose crimes kept escalating until someone sadly got killed. The situation is frustrating for everyone involved, especially for our Springfield Police Department and our community that begs for public safety and to keep the bad guys off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. Good work by our brave and dedicated Springfield Police Officers under the command of Captain Trent Duda and all of our public safety partners for arresting this suspect, again!”

Fitzgerald is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Springfield District Court. This is an ongoing investigation by the Springfield Police Homicide Unit in conjunction with the Hampden District Attorney’s Murder Unit.

28-year-old Ethan Fitzgerald of Ludlow is charged with: