3rd Suspect Sentenced In 2009 Murder of West Hartford Man

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A fourth person convicted in the 2009 kidnapping, robbery and execution-style murder of a West Hartford man has been sentenced to life in prison.

Terrell Hunter, 38, also known as “Rell” and “Killer,” was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport for his role in the slaying of Charles Teasley, 35, in Jan. 2009, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to evidence presented during trial, on Jan. 12, 2009, Hartford police responded to Colebrook Street in response to a 911 call concerning a dead body found in the back seat of a vehicle parked on the street. Upon arrival, Teasley was found dead in the back seat of his own vehicle, a 1999 Acura TL. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head and face, and his hands were zip-tied behind his back, Durham said.

An investigation revealed Hunter, Harold Cook, Gerund Mickens and Jesus Ashanti were involved in committing armed robberies of persons they believed to be drug dealers operating in the greater Hartford area. On Jan. 9, 2009, an individual advised Cook he had arranged to conduct a cocaine transaction with Teasley. The individual provided the particulars of the planned transaction to Cook so Teasley could be kidnapped and robbed of drugs and money, Durham said.

After Teasley arrived at the arranged location, Cook, Mickens, Hunter and Ashanti kidnapped him by using zip-ties to bind his hands and forced him back into the rear seat of his own vehicle, where he was threatened at gunpoint, assaulted and forced to make a telephone call directing his girlfriend to bring the kidnappers a safe he had kept at their West Hartford residence, Durham said.

After acquiring the safe, Cook, Mickens and Hunter drove Teasley to the Colebrook Street area of Hartford, and Ashanti followed them in a separate car. On the way, Cook and Hunter shot Teasley in the head, causing his death. After arriving on Colebrook Street, Cook, Mickens and Hunter left the Acura and Teasley’s body, and fled the area in the car driven by Ashanti, Durham said.

Cook, Mickens and Hunter have been detained since their arrests on April 4, 2017. On Aug. 21, 2018, a jury found them guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death, one count of using a firearm during a kidnapping and causing a death, and one count of using a firearm during a Hobbs Act robbery and causing a death, according to Durham.

Earlier this month, Judge Underhill sentenced both Cook and Mickens to life in prison. Ashanti pleaded guilty to related charges on July 16, 2018, and awaits sentencing, Durham said.