The Bristol County District Attorney’s office announced Thursday night that the Dartmouth Police Department had arrested a suspect for the Saturday night murder of Joseph Tavares.

Robert A. Rose, Jr., 48, of New Bedford was charged with murder and misleading police. The arrest took place at the Dartmouth Police Station after an “informational interview.”

Following a Dec. 22 homicide in the parking lot of a hotel on Faunce Corner Rd., Bristol County District Attorney spokesperson Gregg Miliote said that the public has nothing to fear.

Further information was not immediately available. Rose will be arraigned tomorrow morning, Dec. 28, in open court.

Earlier, District Attorney spokesperson Gregg Miliote said that the crime was “not random.”

Dartmouth police and first responders rushed to the Regency Inn and Suites on Faunce Corner Rd. around 10:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call about a shooting victim. 

Once on scene, first responders found Joseph Tavares, 37, unresponsive inside a car in the hotel’s rear parking lot.

Tavares, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

A hotel guest alerted the hotel’s night manager about an incident in the parking lot, after the guest reported hearing loud thuds and breaking glass. The manager found the scene in the parking lot and called 911.