Murder Charges Filed in Hartford Double Homicide

HARTFORD, CT — A convicted felon from Windsor currently out of prison on probation has been charged with the murder of two men on Albany Avenue in September.

Latroy Johnson, 40, was charged with two counts of murder, first-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm. A judge set bond at $2 million.

At 12:38 a.m. on Sept. 23, Hartford patrol officers responded to the area of 1164 Albany Avenue on a report of shots fired by both the automated ShotSpotter systems, as well as several 911 calls. Officers arrived and found four gunshot victims, one of whom, Joshua Taylor, 31, was pronounced deceased on scene. Another victim, Jovan Wooten, 37, was found unresponsive and transported to St. Francis Hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 29. Two other victims were also located suffering from non-life threatening gunshot wounds, Deputy Police Chief Brian Foley said.

Initial investigation revealed a verbal altercation had occurred on the sidewalk to 1164 Albany Avenue, an area known for very heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The altercation escalated to gunfire when the intended target, Taylor, was struck by a single gunshot to the head. Wooten, a licensed gun permit holder, returned fire, but apparently did not strike the shooter, and was met with return fire from Johnson, resulting in a fatal gunshot to the face, Foley said.

Detectives secured surveillance video in the area which recorded the incident. Ultimately, the combination of forensic evidence, surveillance video and cooperative citizens led to probable cause to charge Johnson with the homicides, Foley said.

On Tuesday, Major Crimes detectives developed information that Johnson, a convicted felon with 23 previous arrests currently out on Connecticut probation, was scheduled for a probation meeting in Hartford. Upon his arrival at the meeting, members of the Hartford Police Department and U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force safely and peacefully took Johnson into custody without incident, Foley said.

Johnson is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call Lieutenant Paul Cicero of the Major Crimes Division at 860-757-4179, or the confidential tip line at 860-722-TIPS.

Photo courtesy of Hartford Police Department