Paul Bass Photo
Det. Daniel Conklin, right, with supervisor Sgt Bertram Ettienne at Thursday’s press conference.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old man and charged him with committing a 2020 murder.
Interim Police Chief Renee Dominguez made that an announcement Thursday during a weekly round-up press conference at 1 Union Ave.
The murder took place last May at Lloyd and Exchange Streets, where a 34-year-old man named Roberto Rivera was shot dead. Through both formal interviews and help from the community, investigators led by Detective Daniel Conklin were able to piece together a case and obtain an arrest warrant last week, according to Conklin’s supervisor in the homicide unit, Sgt. Bertram Ettienne. Police arrested the alleged killer on the warrant this past Saturday; he is being held on $750,000 bond.
Ettienne said police believe the shooting may have been in retaliation for a previous incident. Two other people were shot (but not killed) that day.
Because the arrestee was a minor at the time of the crime, his identity is being withheld, along with many details about the ongoing investigation, Dominguez said.
Also at the press conference, officials announced that:
• 523 people applied to become New Haven cops during a recently completed recruitment drive. That’s up from 454 in 2020, 482 in 2019. Of the applicants, 70 percent are “nonwhite,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, compared to 64 percent in 2020 and 60 percent in 2019; 26 percent live in New Haven.
• Police recovered two more “ghost guns” (self-assembled weapons without serial numbers) during separate arrests over the past week, bringing the total number this year to 11, compared to three at this point last year.
• Officer John Brangi was able to prevent a potentially dangerous situation from spiraling out of control last month. He was called to Center Street in response to a threat by a patient to “shoot up” a dialysis center. The alleged threat came from an emotionally disturbed person sitting in a car. Brangi was able to speak with the person, take away a loaded handgun, and defuse the incident without incident, according to Dominguez. The person was arrested and sent to the hospital for observation.
• New Haven has had 23 homicides and 96 shootings so far this year, compared to 19 homicides and 95 shootings at this point last year.
Click on the video to watch the full press conference:
Thank you to Detective Daniel Conklin and the other investigators in the NHPD and the brave community members who stepped up with providing information that helped to arrest the suspect in the murder case.
Thank you to all the people who applied to becoming police officers on the NHPD, the more people from the city or from towns and cities with similar demographics and challenging issues apply to join the police, the better.
Thank you to Officer John Brangi for handling a mental health crisis situation with a person with a weapon with such tact and skill.