Arrests Made In 2021 Murder Of 22-Year-Old Ciera 'CeCe' Jones: Police

NEW HAVEN, CT —On the corner of Truman Street and Clover Place, there's a community garden. That July 5 mid-afternoon in 2021, a 22-year-old young woman was standing outside her Hill home, just across from the garden, when she was shot in the head.

Ciera "CeeCee" Jones Whitfield was rushed to the hospital, but two days later, died from her injuries.

Now, two years later, police announced an arrest has been made in Jones' murder. Two members of the alleged Exit 8 street gang have been charged in connection with her death.

Tyjon Preston, aka “TJ,” 21 and Antwan Hill, aka “Bandz,” 19 were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The two are currently in custody after a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment last week. Three additional alleged “Exit 8” street gang members were charged with conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering, including drug trafficking, murder, and attempted murder, the Justice Department announced. A previous grand jury returned an indictment charging six alleged members and associates of Exit 8 with related offenses.

New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson said he "personally knew" Jones Whitfield. "This one is very hard."

The case is tied driecttly to the federal proseuction of alleged Exit 8 gang members. Jacobson said that in one of the arrests, "there were two guns that came back to 13 different shootings, the last one on Aug. 1. This is an extremely violent group."

Jacobson said in the case of Antwan Hill, he "personally offered him help to get out of this life."

At a news conference, Jones Whitfield's parents, including her biological and adopted mother, spoke about the young woman who they said was "a good girl" who had been working hard to "get her life on track."

"She was beginning to turn her life around," her adopted mother said. "She talked to me. She told me how she wanted to be a better person. But she was a good girl. She was a happy girl. And she loved her family. She was murdered in cold blood, and that's left a hole in our hearts that will never be filled."