Windsor Locks Teen Gets 5 Years In 2020 Vernon Shooting Case

VERNON, CT — The teen identified as the getaway driver in a 2020 shooting involving rival factions of young people in Vernon has been given prison time.

Tolland State's Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky said that Joseph Sandone, 19, of Windsor Locks, was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for his role in the the Aug. 27, 2020 assault and attempted shooting of a juvenile in the Rockville section of Vernon.

Sandone had entered a guilty plea in Rockville Superior Court to the charge of conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree.

According to court and police records, Sandone served as the getaway driver for Trenton Merrill and Jakwai Sosa, who committed the assault and attempted to shoot the juvenile.

The altercation at Ward and Prospect streets was one of a series of escalating violent interactions between two groups of young people in Rockville at the time.

Following an extensive investigation conducted by the Vernon Police Department spanning 2019 through 2021, police arrested 15 individuals in connection with multiple stabbings, assaults and shootings, Gedansky said. The defendants were presented in Rockville Superior Court, with additional juveniles charged in Rockville Juvenile Court.

Merrill received a seven-year sentence.

Sosa received a 10-year sentence, suspended after five, but has been banned from Vernon.

All of the cases were prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Jaclyn Preville.