So said one teen boy who had just rushed back to a getaway car after opening fire into a Dickerman Street courtyard, according to police affidavits. Read the affidavits in which a cop reconstructs the June 17 shooting spree that killed 13-year-old Jajuana Cole and wounded two other teen girls, including Krystal Hammett (pictured). The affidavits paint a picture of four teen boys and a juvenile who set out to shoot up a rival gang, then gave each other up to police.
After an eyewitness identified Lamont Swint as one of the teen attackers, police got hot on the trail of the other suspects, according to the affidavits. Swint quickly directed police to a videotape of the shooting in his closet. He and a juvenile, who was in the car with the four teens but has not been charged, helped piece together the case and track down the other suspects.
Four teen boys —‚Äù Swint, Daniel Carter, Torell Boyd and Tremayne Sanders —‚Äù have been charged with aiding and abetting a murder and conspiracy to commit murder. None has been charged with murder yet.
The videotape (as described in the affidavit; the tape has not been made public) shows something police have been reluctant to describe: Who pulled the trigger. While an eyewitness had pegged Swint as one of two gunmen, the affidavit says otherwise: “In viewing the video tape of the murder, it appears that Swint was truthful in that Tremaine Sanders [sic] and Daniel Carter appear to be the gunmen who open fire on Dickerman Street,” writes New Haven Police Detective Al Vazquez.
Affidavits paint the attack as part of an ongoing fued between the Tribe (Dixwell) and the ‘Ville (Newhallville). The five boys were from the ‘Ville; the murder happened in Tribe territory. The boys were apparently driving around in a car, spotted a Tribe gang member outside 35 Dickerman Street, and said “there go some of them.” Then they parked their car nearby, snuck through backyards to the apartment complex, and opened fire.
To walk your way through how the police made the case, follow the pages of Daniel Carter’s affidavit:
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To read the tale compiled as a word document, click here.
