Manchester Man Enters Plea In Car Wash Shooting Case

MANCHESTER, CT — A Manchester man has entered a plea in the case of another man being shot while working at a car wash, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Hector Alfonso, 37, of Manchester, pleaded guilty last Tuesday in New Haven federal court to drug and firearm offenses related to a shooting that occurred in Hartford’s South End in December 2016.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2016, Hartford police went to a car wash at 156 Franklin Avenue to investigate a reported shooting. The found an employee of the car wash who has beern shot twice, according to case records.

The car wash staffer was transported to an area hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released, Durham said.

Video surveillance showed Alfonso and Michael Rivera arriving at the car wash to acquire a "distribution quantity of heroin" from Ruben Rodriguez and another individual, according to case records. A dispute and subsequent struggle occurred during the transaction, and Alfonso pulled out a gun and shot the employee, according to case records.

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.

Alfonso pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years; and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive prison term of at least seven years, Durham said.

Alfonso is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on Feb. 12, 2019.

Alfonso’s criminal history includes a federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, crack cocaine. In June 2014, he was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for that offense, records show.

Alfonso faces additional penalties for violating the conditions of his supervised release from his prior federal conviction, Durhm said.

Michael Rivera, 35, of Hartford, and Ruben Rodriguez, 38, of Meriden, have pleaded guilty to related charges and are detained while awaiting sentencing. Durham said. When Rodriguez was arrested on Sept. 29, 2017, a search of his 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, he added.

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