Vernon Woman Charged With Hindering Prosecution In Shooting Case

VERNON, CT — A Vernon woman has now been arrested three times in about a month — twice in connection with a shooting incident in the Rockville section of town. She is also accused of spurring a series of "call bombs" that tied up the local 911 system after her first arrest while a unrelated resident was trying to report a heart attack, police said.

The latest charges levied against Carlyann Merrill are hindering prosecution and interfering. She was arrested Monday as part of the ongoing investigation into the Aug. 27 shooting.

Merrill is the mother of a primary defendant in the Case, 18-year-olf Trenton Merrill, who has been charged with attempted murder and other felonies in the case. Jakwai Sosa, 21, has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree assault with a firearm and various other crimes in the case.

Carlyann Merrill was charged in September with evidence tampering and interfering with police, records show. She is accused of deleting home video footage after learning police were investigating her son in relation to the shooting, police said. Police said Merrill refused to surrender her phone, which is believed to have contained evidence, and the phone had to be forcibly taken from her by investigators.

About a week before the shooting case arrest, Merrill was charged with breach of peace after an altercation outside Vernon Town Hall, police records show.

Arrested with Merrill Monday were her sisters, 33-year-old Jenna Merrill, of East Hartford and 35-year-old Jenna Merrill, who were charged with hindering prosecution and second-degree harassment. Maggie Taylor, 32, of Newington, was charged with hindering prosecution as well, records show.

Arrest warrants obtained by Patch point to an incident at Carlyann Merrill's 157 Union Street home leading to the hindering charge. The home is also the center of a drug factory investigation.

According to warrants, police believed Trenton Merrill was at the family home, which Carylann Merrill refused to confirm.

According to the warrants, Carylann Merrill and a juvenile son had been recording police activity on her phone for Facebook Live. As the boy was recording, Carylann Merrill's voice could be heard telling someone else to remain in the home.

Other people could be heard on the recording and police said they were familiar with Trenton Merrill's voice and determined that he was in the home. That led to the hindering charge, according to warrants.

Communications between Trenton Merrill and the other Merrills and Taylor led to the other hindering charges.

See details on the shooting incident here.

The harassment charges relate to the town hall incident, according to warrants. Carylann Merrill was recording that incident on Facebook live as well and her arrest prompted the sisters to call the 911 dispatch center 12 times in 4 minutes, which overwhelmed the single dispatcher on duty and forced even the police chief to jump in and help with the call load.

The sisters were screaming and accusing police for arresting Carylann Merrill for no reason, according to warrants. In the midst of the "unruly" calls, the dispatcher was trying to handle a call for a cardiac arrest, according to warrants.