Thomas Breen Photo
Bishop Willa Moody (right) with Mayor Elicker and Norman Boone's family, friends, and neighbors on Tuesday.
Allan Appel photo
Norman Boone, in 2008.
Five years after a 27-year old New Havener who tried to turn his life around was shot and killed on Dickerman Street in the middle of the afternoon, police obtained an arrest warrant for his alleged killer — thanks to help from a “courageous community member” who came forward to talk to detectives.
Mayor Justin Elicker, Acting Police Chief Regina Rush-Kittle, and Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson made that announcement Tuesday afternoon during a press conference on the third floor of police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. They were joined by over a dozen family members, friends, and neighbors of the murdered man, Norman Boone — as well as by nearly 10 fellow city and state law enforcement officials.
Rush-Kittle said that, on May 26 of this year, Det. Bleck Joseph “submitted and had granted an arrest warrant” for a 31-year-old New Havener who is already incarcerated on unrelated gun charges.
She said that this suspect will be served with that arrest warrant in state court on Wednesday for the charges of murder, first-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit. Those charges, Rush-Kittle said, stem from this suspect’s alleged murder of Norman Boone in the early afternoon of May 27, 2017 outside 77 Dickerman St.
Thomas Breen Photo
Assistant Chief Jacobson: Thank you to family, community.
Jacobson added that the suspect is well known to city, state, and federal law enforcement. The alleged murderer is a member of the “Grape Street Crips,” Jacobson said, and has been arrested three times for various firearm offenses since Boone’s murder.
Boone was 27 at the time he was shot and killed.
Just like his alleged killer, he was a familiar person to city police. Street outreach workers lauded him back in 2008 for turning his life around, before he apparently fell back into trouble.
Click here and here for previous stories about Boone’s shooting death in 2017.
Click here to a read an article about how street outreach workers had hailed Boone in 2008 for turning around his life after being part of the Dixwell-based “Tribe” gang.
And click here for a story about how a judge sentenced Boone to 18 months in prison on weapons and drug charges after the state’s attorney’s office rejected a local police bid to charge him with having committed a murder. The dispute led to tensions at the time between the state’s attorney and the cops, with a dramatic courtroom intervention by the region’s top prosecutor.
“This does give us some peace that justice can be served,” said Agape Christian Center Pastor Willa Moody, speaking on behalf of Boone’s family.
Boone’s aunt, Rosa LaSane, agreed. She thanked the police officers — namely Joseph, Sgt. Bert Ettienne, and retired Det. Michael Wuchek — who have worked on Booke’s case for the past five years. And she thanked the community member who decided to come forward and speak with the police after all this time to help the NHPD solve the case.
Boone's aunt, Rosa LaSane.
“Thank you to the person who stepped up,” LaSane said.
Jacobson said that that “courageous community member” coming forward recently to talk with the police about Boone’s shooting death was crucial in helping detectives find out who the alleged murderer is.
“This is important. We need the families and the community to stand with us,” Jacobson said. “We’re happy to bring a small sense of peace and comfort to Mr. Boone’s loved ones.”
He also celebrated how Joseph is one of 10 newly promoted detectives in the NHPD. Nice job, he said to Joseph. That promotion “is working out.”
During his time at the mic, the mayor turned to Boone’s family members and friends, and thanked them for coming to the press conference — and thanked them for their patience as city police worked to find Boone’s alleged killer.
“Justice takes time,” he said.
Acting Police Chief Regina Rush-Kittle hugging members of Boone's family.
Tuesday’s presser marks the latest announcement this year that city police have found an alleged killer from a homicide that took place years ago. Click here and here to read about city police’s announcement earlier this year of their arrest of a man accused of shooting and killing Curtis McCray in 2019.
Thank you to Det. Bleck Joseph, Sgt. Bert Ettienne, Det. Michael Wuchek, and a special thank you to the brave community member who stepped up, spoke out, and said no more, and helped the NHPD to arrest the suspected killer.
Hopefully justice will be served and the murderer will be convicted and serve time and will use their time in incarceration realizing the error of their ways, and will come to see the light.
The victim of this murder, struggled to turn his life around after his own brushes with the law.
We need to support those who seek to change their ways and turn their lives around and leave their old ways behind.
There are multiple tragedies here, the loss of life, and the lost promise of two men who made poor choices, and one who tried to get his life in order, only to be sucked back down into the chaos of the streets.
We can all play a part in reducing violence and crime by supporting anti-violence and anti gang initiatives, support youth organizations and programming, support prison re-entry programs, support mental health programs, support substance abuse programming, support homeless support and shelter programming, support youth jobs programs, support incarceration rehabilitation programming such as education, mental health and substance abuse support programming, and support the government funding for all of these intervention and prevention programs that help make an impact on getting people back on their feet and keeping them on a productive and healthy path.