Juvenile Suspects Charged With Hartford Homicide

HARTFORD, CT — A pair of teenagers have been charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a 63-year-old man on a Hartford street Sunday afternoon.

At 1:59 p.m., Hartford police patrol officers responded to the intersection of Garden and Westland streets for a Shotspotter system activation of four shots fired. Upon arrival, officers located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said.

The victim, Jeffrey Worrell, was transported by ambulance to Saint Francis Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced deceased. The man had no family in the region, and investigation showed he was an innocent victim and unintended target, Foley said.

The Hartford Police Department Major Crimes Division and Crime Scene Division responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. During the course of the investigation, analysts from the Capitol City Crime Center (C4) working with MCD detectives canvassed, located and reviewed surveillance footage which captured the incident in its entirety, Foley said.

During the review, a suspect vehicle was identified and found to be stolen from Southington; it was subsequently located in New Britain. With the assistance of the New Britain Police Department, persons of interest were located and interviewed. With the information obtained, video review and physical evidence, probable cause was established by HPD detectives and multiple juvenile suspects identified. Detectives drafted arrest warrant affidavits for co-conspirators, which were reviewed and signed by a judge of the Superior Court, Foley said.

Middletown police officers located and took a 16-year-old male suspect into custody without incident Wednesday. He was subsequently transported to the state Juvenile Detention Center in Hartford, where is being detained on a judge-set bond of $1 million, Foley said.

MCD detectives located a second male suspect, 18, at his residence, where he was taken into custody without incident. He was also transported to juvenile detention, where he is being held on a judge-set $1 million bond, Foley said.

Both juveniles have been charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and are scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

The suspects in this incident may also be involved in other recent violent acts in Hartford, and the investigation is ongoing, according to Foley.

Patch file photo