Maya McFadden Photo
Fleeing vehicle from incident to right.
The Hamden Police Department announced that a reward for information leading to an arrest in the murder of 21-year-old Dennis Allen-Paige has been doubled to $50,000.
Allen-Paige was robbed and shot down on Dec. 8, 2019.
Hamden PD Capt. Ronald Smith joined the Allen-Paige family at a Tuesday press conference to announce the increased reward authorized by the state and Governor Ned Lamont.
Capt. Smith at Tuesday presser.
Hamden Detective Mark Sheppard said the homicide case has received few tips from the public to identify the vehicle used to follow Allen-Paige that night and the two suspects who exited the car and pursued Allen-Paige.
Shortly after midnight on Dec. 8, 2019, Hamden PD responded to a report of a gunshot victim on Whiting Street. Police found Allen-Paige lying in the street with a gunshot wound in his back. Medical assistance transported Allen-Paige to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he later died.
JoAnna McDaniel.
Allen-Paige had just finished working his shift at the Hamden Plaza’s TJ Maxx. After work Allen-Paige got a bite to eat, then walked 2.4 miles toward his Whiting Street home.
Sheppard said he believes Allen-Paige was not followed during his entire walk, only the last few blocks.
As Allen-Paige approached his street, the vehicle drove ahead of him and parked on Whiting Street, “almost as if they knew that he had lived on that street,” Sheppard said.
At least two people exited the vehicle and approached Allen-Paige, causing a struggle to ensue. Allen-Paige then ran from the suspects and was shot in the back.
The red vehicle was last observed fleeing toward New Haven. Allen-Paige’s wallet was later found at Sherman Parkway and Dorman Street.
The department used footage from surveillance videos recovered from the area to identify the suspects’ vehicle as a red four-door sedan. Sheppard said they are unable to describe the make or model of the vehicle from the footage or the license plate. The footage did reveal that the vehicle has a third brake light on the back deck of the car, as opposed to at the top, he said.
Detective Mark Sheppard.
Sheppard can be contacted for tips at (203) 230‑4047, or (203) 836‑0506 for text messages.
Detective Division Supervisor Michael Nawrocki was also in attendance at the press conference.
“During this incident, the Hamden Police Department has received very very little cooperation from the public,” said Sheppard.
Allen-Paige was the youngest of nine children. He attended Helen Street School and Hamden Middle School, and graduated from Hamden High School.
Before passing, Allen-Paige had told his mother Betty Paige that he wanted to go back to school.
His counselor at Hamden High helped to get him his job at TJ Maxx.
“My brother was the type of person that everybody wanted to hang around with from the adults to the children,” sister JoAnna McDaniel said at the Tuesday conference.
Betty Paige.
A dozen of Allen-Paige’s family members gathered for the afternoon conference.
Betty recalled coming home from work early in the morning after the third shift and checking in on Allen-Paige in his room. He would always be awake in bed waiting for his mom to get home safely every morning. “Mom, I know that’s you opening the door,” she recalled him saying.
Betty raised all of her kids to stay off the streets, she said.
She appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
“If you know something, talk up, don’t be afraid. It could of been your kids, your grandson, your brother, your nephew. Today is the time to step up,” Betty said.
She directed a message to parents urging them to watch their kids closely and to hold them accountable.
“If your kids come home with a stack of money or a brand new car, with stuff they didn’t earn or work for, you should start questioning, you should investigate,” she said.
Hamden PD Press Conference on Dennis Allen-Paige Homicide
Posted by New Haven Independent on Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Wise words from the victim's mother-
Betty raised all of her kids to stay off the streets, she said.
She appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
"If you know something, talk up, don't be afraid. It could of been your kids, your grandson, your brother, your nephew. Today is the time to step up," Betty said.
She directed a message to parents urging them to watch their kids closely and to hold them accountable.
"If your kids come home with a stack of money or a brand new car, with stuff they didn't earn or work for, you should start questioning, you should investigate," she said.
I pray that people will be brave enough to come forward with any information related to this murder, so his mother may have justice.
Silence is complicity.
Snitching saves lives.
Be brave and stand up and speak out for justice and the safety of your community.