Manchester Man Gets 12 Years In Car Wash Shooting Case

MANCHESTER, CT — A man, incriminated in part by evidence on a toilet seat, has been give a prison sentence of more than a dozen years in a Hartford car wash shooting case, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Monday that, on March 22, Hector Alfonso, 37, of Manchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 153 months in prison, 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 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2016, Hartford police officers responded to a report of a person shot at a car wash, located at 156 Franklin Ave., in Hartford.

Officers encountered an employee of the car wash who was suffering from two gunshot wounds, according to case records.

The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released, Durham said.

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, according to a case records.

A dispute and subsequent struggle occurred during the transaction, and Alfonso brandished a firearm, case records indicate.

He then 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, Durham said.

He has been detained since his arrest.

On Nov. 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.

Durham said Alfonso’s criminal history includes a federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of 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.