Two Indicted In Shooting, Robbery At New Haven Restaurant

NEW HAVEN, CT — Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a robbery and shooting at a New Haven restaurant in April 2015, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. Tythrone Ford, 26, of Bridgeport, and Treizy Lopez, 23, of New Haven, have been charged in the cold case investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New Haven Police Department.

According to prosecutors, Ford and Lopez entered the SMokin' Wings restaurant on Congress Avenue and demanded money at gunpoint. Lopez fired his gun, shooting a female employee in the stomach.

The indictment charges Ford and Lopez with one count of Hobbs Act robbery, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

In addition, Lopez is charged with carrying, using, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

Ford is charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

Ford was arrested recently and is detained. Lopez is currently incarcerated in state custody after being convicted of offenses related to a violent robbery in Bridgeport in April 2015.

U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter D. Markle, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, and Nathaniel J. Gentile.