Woodbridge Police Make 2nd Arrest In Murder Of West Haven Man

WOODBRIDGE, CT — A second arrest was made Wednesday in connection with the murder of a 33-year-old West Haven man last spring, police announced. Rickey Traynham, 26, of New Haven, has been charged with murder among numerous other felony charges. He's being held on $2 million bond.

The night of June 7, the victim, Rondell Atkinson, went to the Pease Road Playground/Alegi Athletic Fields in Woodbridge with two men, Traynham being one, who police said robbed Atkinson and shot him multiple times before taking off in his car, leaving him to die in the parking lot. His body was found the next morning by a jogger.

A month later, Woodbridge police detectives and Connecticut State Police arrested Jorden Rudel, 24, of Derby for his role in the robbery and killing. Held at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown on $2 million bond, he was charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny.

Wednesday, Woodbridge police announced Traynham's arrest. He's been charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, possession of a large-capacity magazine and criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Traynham has been incarcerated since July 11, after his arrest by Woodbridge detectives and Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime, charged then with second-degree larceny for "being in possession of the deceased victim’s motor vehicle after the incident," police said.

In a news release, Woodbridge Police Department Chief Frank Cappiello lauded the "tenacious efforts" of Woodbridge investigators, the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime and Emergency Services Units, the New Haven Police Department, the FBI, the state Forensic Science Laboratory and the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, who he said, "collectively worked to identify all those responsible for committing this heinous crime."