Manchester Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Crimes Stemming from Hartford Car Wash Shooting |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut
25 March 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on March 22, 2018, HECTOR ALFONSO, 37, of Manchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 153 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for offenses related to a December 2016 shooting in Hartford’s South End, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.
According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 10:00 p.m. on December 21, 2016, Hartford Police officers responded to a report of a person shot at a car wash located at 156 Franklin Avenue in Hartford. At the car wash, officers encountered an employee of the car wash who was suffering from two gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.
The investigation, which included analysis of a surveillance video, revealed that Alfonso arrived at the car wash shortly before the shooting to acquire a distribution quantity of heroin from Ruben Rodriguez and another individual. A dispute and subsequent struggle occurred during the transaction, and Alfonso brandished a firearm. He then shot the employee.
Alfonso was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on April 26, 2017. A search of his Manchester residence on that date revealed cocaine residue on a toilet seat, cocaine and crack cocaine residue in another part of home, and items used to process and package narcotics for street sale. He has been detained since his arrest.
On November 20, 2018, Alfonso pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Alfonso’s criminal history includes a federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine base (“crack”). In June 2014, he was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for that offense.
Judge Arterton sentenced Alfonso to 141 months of imprisonment for the drug and gun offenses, and a consecutive 12 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release that were imposed in 2014.
Rodriguez has been detained since his arrest on September 27, 2017. On that date, a search of his Meriden residence and vehicle revealed a loaded .40 caliber pistol, numerous rounds of ammunition, approximately 133 grams of heroin, approximately 170 grams of cocaine, and $61,909 in cash.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to drug and firearm offenses on November 9, 2018. On March 21, 2019, he was sentenced to 72 months of imprisonment.
This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hartford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.