New Info in Shooting of Brewster Man Reveals Cover Up

BREWSTER, CT — The man who shot and killed another man in the basement of a Danbury condo was under the influence of drugs at the time, according to court documents made available today.

David Ramos, 34, of Danbury, accidentally shot his friend Jason Hoffman, a 33-year-old Brewster, NY, man on Sept. 4. He was charged with first-degree manslaughter and a variety of drug-related crimes.

According to the new information, Gabrielle Rega, Ramos' girlfriend, revealed to police that she, Ramos and Hoffman were high on crack cocaine when Ramos pulled out a handgun to look at, or to clean, not knowing the safety was not on. When he did, the gun "went off," according to Rega, shooting Hoffman in the back.

That was not Rega's first description of the incident. The court documents indicate that she first told police Hoffman was shot by someone firing into the building from outside. She identified the shooter as someone she said Hoffman got into a fight with earlier in the night.