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New London Police Seek 'Armed and Dangerous' Murder Suspect

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New London police are searching an “armed and dangerous” murder suspect.

Police said 18-year-old Jamir Johnson is accused in the shooting death of Quvonte Gray‎ on December 9, 2017. An arrest warrant for Johnson charges him with murder, possession of a pistol without a permit, and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Johnson should be considered armed and dangerous, according to police, and should not be approached. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the New London Police Department at 860-447-5269 or their local police department.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to the New London Tips 411 system by texting NLPDTip plus the information to Tip411 (847411).



Photo Credit: New London Police Department

West Hartford Students Will be Screened for Alcohol at Prom

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The West Hartford School district is hoping to prevent underage drinking at school events with a new screening program, and it will be tested at prom.

Parents at West Hartford's Conard and Hall High Schools received a letter explaining their kids will have to pass a passive alcohol screening test before heading into prom.

Conard High School parent Gretchen Mayne says she's seen what happens when teens drink at school events.

“I think the first football game this year, you know there were some kids that were falling off the bleachers,” Mayne said.

Maybe received the letter detailing the new Passive Alcohol Screening test prom-goers will have to take if they want to be allowed in. She thinks it's a great idea.

“What's the purpose of prom, is it to be drunk or have fun with your friends?” Mayne said.

The move by the West Hartford Board of Education is meant to enforce existing underage drinking rules at any school-sponsored event. The Passive Alcohol Sensor (PAS) devices are different from traditional breathalyzer tests - instead of blowing through them, teens will be asked to just breathe across them. The test is also meant to sniff out any alcohol that may be hidden.

If the device detects alcohol, the student will have to wait 15 minutes and take a second test. If the student fails again, school officials will call a parent or guardian and the student could face disciplinary action. 

“Students will have to pass through, and it takes no time at all,” explained Cheryl Greenberg, chair of the West Hartford Board of Education.

Greenberg said no specific incident prompted this change. Rather, it's an effort to stay ahead of keeping students safe.

“We didn't want to respond to something, we wanted to be proactive,” she said.

Jeff Cao, another Conard parent, supports the measure, but he questions if mandatory testing shows a lack of faith in teens.

“They want to feel like they should be trusted with their being juniors and seniors,” Cao said.

Mayne said teens still need supervision to stay safe.

“Kids have a lot of responsibility on them and setting some boundaries and parameters I think is an OK thing to do,” she said.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

At a Price: Is Regionalism Realistic?

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Current and former leaders in the Connecticut General Assembly from both parties agree that regionalism is a necessity in the state in order to save money, but they also agree that existing pressures, many of the same reasons for a lack of more shared services around the state, are also responsible for stunting any progress on the topic at the state level.

"The reality is every one of those communities has their own constituencies, their own labor unions and their own people that they're trying to assuage and appease in an effort to try to continue on in their role as a local elected official,” said Brendan Sharkey (D), the former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Sharkey championed regionalization efforts during his 16 years in the General Assembly.


He chaired the MORE Commission, which stood for Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies. The group was eventually responsible for changing state laws to allow school systems and other local departments to merge, providing relief from state mandates at the local level. Sharkey viewed that as a tremendous policy success, and said it’s because of the consensus that having 169 independent city and town governments is not a way to effectively and efficiently spend taxpayer money.

"Conservative or liberal, everyone understands this is not the way to run a railroad but what they'll tell you privately is we need the state to force us to do this because locally, politically it's impossible to propose this on our own. We need the state to tell us how it is going to be."

The current Speaker of the House, Rep. Joe Aresimowicz (D - Berlin), agrees that regionalism and more cities and towns sharing functions like public safety, emergency dispatch, financial, and election administration services is vital to Connecticut’s future.

"We have to do it. We have to be competitive,” Aresimowicz said. He told NBC Connecticut that the method of individual cities and towns measuring less than 20 square miles making decisions simply for their swaths of land do not hold up to basic scrutiny.


"Why is somebody who's plowing a street in West Hartford stopping when it hits into Newington? Let's talk about that. Let's have a conversation.”

Aresimowicz and Sharkey both believe the only way for progress to happen is by the state mandating more regional cooperation and using appropriations as the incentive. Municipalities, they argue, will get more financial support the more they collaborate and they will receive less and have to be more self-sufficient if they refuse.

“The first year we give them a pass,” Aresimowicz suggested. “Year Two we start reducing your funding on a percentage. Year Three, year four, year five, if they think they only can do it the best way. Their residents are going to have to pay for it."

Republicans also support regionalism efforts, as long as they are based on geographical and cultural neighbors, and as long as the state is not requiring it from the General Assembly.

Rep. Themis Klarides, (R – Derby), said another mandate could be viewed unfavorably at the local level, even if there are purse strings and incentives attached.

"I don't really support just mandating it and telling you, 'you have no choice,' because I think there are a lot of choices. I think people aren't realizing what their choices are. And that's by having conversations and putting natural groups together they think that it's different than it actually is,” she said.


The issue of regionalism has been barely discussed during the 2018 campaigns for governor on either side of the political aisle.

Of all of the candidates running for governor only one of them, Sean Connolly, a Democrat who served as Veterans Affairs Commissioner under Gov. Dannel Malloy, mentions sharing services as a way to save taxpayers money on his official campaign website.

No matter what, said former Speaker Sharkey, the next governor whether they are a Republican or a Democrat, will look at the current delivery of services at the local level and conclude there has to be a better way.

“I think that new governor is going to propose the kind of seismic changes that need to happen in order for the state to save money and frankly for local taxpayers to save money,” Sharkey said.

Current Speaker Aresimowicz agrees, adding that at one point in time, more than 100 years ago individual municipal services made sense, but says today it is one of the factors that has contributed in no small part to Connecticut’s economic malaise.

"We can do it much more efficiently and probably offer better services but you get to the argument of 'oh no, we've never done that,' and one of the greatest strengths used to be, 'we're the land of steady habits.' It has now become our greatest weakness," he said.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com
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Woman Killed, 3 Seriously Injured in Head-On Crash in Kent

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A 22-year-old woman was killed in a head-on crash in Kent on Friday evening.

A Lincoln Navigator and a GMC Terrain were driving in opposite directions on Skiff Mountain Road when they collided at the crest of a hill around 7 p.m., according to police.

Deanna Silvernail, of Lakeville, who was a backseat passenger in the GMC Terrain, was thrown from the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The driver of the GMC, 25-year-old Shelby Roger, of Salisbury, was flown by LifeStar helicopter to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries.

Another passenger, 21-year-old Angela Brazzale, of Salisbury, was taken by ambulance to Danbury Hospital with serious injuries.

Brian Hastings, 37, of Kent, was the driver of the Lincoln Navigator, according to police. He was flown by LifeStar helicopter to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford with serious injuries, police said.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Puerto Rico School Catapults 3 Jockeys to the Kentucky Derby

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Jockey Jose Ortiz, 24, remembers the last time he visited the school in Puerto Rico that kick-started his horse racing career. 

The teacher in charge at Escuela Vocacional Hípica, the Vocational Equestrian School of Puerto Rico (VES), in Canóvanas, east of San Juan, asked the incoming class if they knew who their visiting guest was.  

“The ones who knew me made me feel as if I was someone big,” Ortiz recalled in between races recently at his home racetrack, New York City's Aqueduct. “This is the moment you realize everything you’ve worked for and that you were here, sitting, in that very same room.”

It was early February and the incoming class of jockeys didn’t have basic training facilities, because the school's grounds were still torn apart by Hurricane Maria. Yet there he was, standing in front of 15 jockeys, many from humble origins, having taken home for the first time the Outstanding Jockey Award in the Eclipse Awards by The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, one of the top honors a jockey can earn.


“Now they sit there, and I can offer some hope that they can make it, too, if they set their minds to it,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz's older brother Irad, 25, moved to New York in 2011 and Jose followed a year later. Now both headliners at Aqueduct are gearing up to race in the Kentucky Derby. They will contend with one of their role models, Puerto Rican jockey and past Kentucky Derby winner John Velazquez.

In all, three jockeys originally from Puerto Rico will compete at the Derby — and all schooled at VES. Brothers Jose and Irad will compete on top of Good Magic and Hofburg, respectively, while Velazquez will ride Vino Rosso.

“I grew up watching John Velazquez winning races like the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby, and it was my dream to do the same,” Jose Ortiz said of Velazquez, who entered the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2012 and also sat in the seats of the island's Equestrian Vocational School. 

"But riding in Puerto Rico, I wasn’t going to get any of that," Jose Ortiz said. "I’ve come to the United States to follow my dream.”

Jose and his brother are among four Puerto Rican jockeys who this year make up the top 10 riders by earnings for bettors, according to Equibase. Heading into the Derby, Jose's haul this year was ahead of Velazquez's and Manuel Franco's. Last year, Jose's wins bagged $27 million. The jockeys get a percentage of those winnings.

As his fortunes have risen on the mainland, Puerto Rico's equestrian industry finds itself "seven to 10 years into a minor crisis," as described by Jose Maymo Azize, who oversees the industry for Puerto Rico's government. 

In the '70s and '80s, brands like Budweiser and Marlboro sponsored races in Puerto Rico and money was pouring in from betting during what's known as the glory days of horse racing in Puerto Rico. Boricuas would flood horse tracks and off track betting centers, known as agencies, to place their wagers. Now, priorities have shifted.

Following a 10-year fiscal crisis in which the American territory racked up an unsustainable amount of debt, Puerto Rico since last year has endured the aftermath of two natural disasters — hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Between September, when Maria made landfall, and January, about 100 racehorses died or had to be euthanized due to diseases and stress-related conditions, Maymo Azize said.

VES sacrificed one of its 12 horses because it got laminitis, an inflammatory condition inside the hoof. Ana Delia Velazquez, 42, director of the VES of Puerto Rico since 2001 said this was due to the foot-and-a-half of water in which some horses found themselves after the storm.

The public school operates inside Puerto Rico’s only racetrack, Hipodromo Camarero. After the storm, the lights were out, the glass walls were broken and so were the screens. The stable’s roots had flown away and the road was damaged.


Both the racetrack and school have slowly restarted operations.

Maymo Azize said his agency has suffered from a lack of funding that has affected Puerto Rico. 

And horse owners, trainers, groomers and jockeys simply make more money on the mainland. The prices, awards and prestige no longer cover the financial risks of up-keeping horses.

Winnings are low because the industry depends on how much money is placed on bets, said Ana Delia Velazquez.

“The best price is that of the Clasico del Caribe," Velazquez explained, referring to Caribbean countries' equivalent to the Derby. “We are talking about an $80,000 [purse], which most of the time is the minimum allowance in the United States.”

She added that Hurricane Maria was the cherry on top of an already struggling economy.

“People have to feed their families, and gambling is obviously not a priority,” she said.

Meanwhile, over the last couple of years, VES alumni have become superstars in the U.S. racing world. The school forged new talents like Manuel Franco, who is one of the youngest jockeys on the professional circuit at just 21, also a top 10 earner. And Evin Roman shines in races in Santa Anita Park, California.

Passion toward horses that resides in the streets and ranches of Puerto Rico is shared by other VES students and alumni.

Following in the steps of the Ortiz Brothers, Andrea Rodriguez, a 20-year-old jockey in the graduating class of December 2018, plans to excel in the U.S. She hope to make her mark in a male dominated sport.

“In my case it comes with the family,” Rodriguez said. “We very much have equestrian veins." 

Rodriguez grew up attending races at Puerto Rico's Camarero racetrack and said she decided at age 6 this was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Rodriguez great aunt, Aide Rodriguez, was the first female trainer on the island, and she hopes to live up to her legacy.

“In my case, it’s always been clear for me that there will be less opportunities for me [as a woman],” she said. “ But I’ve always placed bets on myself and in women.”

She said she's looking for the right opportunity to move to the mainland.

“I really like equestrianism here [in Puerto Rico] because it is the one I grew up in," she said. "But I like that in the States I’ll have the option to try different things.”




Photo Credit: Sindy Nanclares
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Man Dies in Motorcycle Crash in Lisbon

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A Norwich man died in a motorcycle crash in Lisbon on Friday afternoon.

Rayshawn Cooper, 24, lost control of his motorcycle on Route 169 near Blissville Road just before 4 p.m., according to state police.

Cooper passed two vehicles at a high rate of speed and lost control at a curve in the road, police said.

He died at the scene.

No one else was injured in the crash.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Body Found in Woods in Griswold

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State police are investigating the discovery of a dead body in Griswold.

Troopers responded to the area of Kenwood Road at 9:23 a.m. Saturday after someone reported finding a dead body in the woods, according to state police.

It was not clear if the body was that of a male or a female.

Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime Unit are investigating the incident.

The medical examiner's office also responded to the scene and will perform an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death and to assist with identification, police said.

There is no threat to the public, authorities said.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Motorcycle Crash Closes I-95 in Old Lyme

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State police are responding I-95 in Old Lyme for a motorcycle crash on the highway.

The accident is in the northbound lanes of I-95, according to the Department of Transportation.

State police said both sides of the highway are shut down as a LifeStar helicopter lands to transport the victim.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Team 26 Bikes to Washington to Spark Change in Gun Laws

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A group of 26 cyclists started a 400-mile journey from Connecticut to Washington D.C. Saturday. Team 26 pedaled with a purpose; to convince Congress to get tough on gun violence.

“We thought Sandy Hook was going to be the tipping point, and yet it just happens over and over,” said Laura Feinstein.

The Sandy Hook reading teacher lived through the mass shooting at her school. Her three decades in education changed in a moment on December 14, 2012.

“Lockdowns have just become part of the norm, which is heartbreaking,” said Feinstein.

Surrounded by members of Team 26 dressed in Sandy Hook green, Feinstein was one of half a dozen speakers who shared their stories as part of a call to Congress to take action to end gun violence. She was joined by a mother from Utah who lost her youngest daughter in a shooting and 19-year-old Tyler Saurez, who performed a song in memory of his aunt, Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung.

“The biggest message I think is just to listen to each other. I think the overall message is that that’s what everyone wants. We all want to be listened to,” Suarez said.

“This year, we’re carrying with us a petition that’s been signed by over 250-thousand Americans,” said Team 26 Leader Monte Frank.

The team first pedaled off for Washington in 2013, to remember the 26 students and teachers killed at Sandy Hook, and call for change from the lawmakers they met along their two-wheel tour.

“It’s bigger than that now. It’s not just about Sandy Hook, it’s all the other places, you know Parkland, and the slow massacre that’s happening in our cities. We’ve got to stop this madness,” said Frank.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Horses and Hats: 2018 Kentucky Derby in Photos

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Outrageous hats and wild-patterned suits were on full display at the 144th Kentucky Derby, despite soggy and muddy conditions at the track. Take a look at the Derby pageantry and horses at Saturday’s Run for the Roses.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Firefighters From Several Departments Battling Brush Fires Along Airline Trail

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Firefighters from several departments are battling multiple brush fires along the Airline Trail. 

According to officials, Willimantic Fire Department along with crews from Columbia, Windham, and North and South Windham fire departments responded to several locations in the woods off of Columbia Avenue in Willimantic, Hebron and Lebanon Saturday night. 

Willimantic Fire Department officials said they will likely remain on scene for an extended period of time. 

It was not made immediately clear if the fires were connected. 

NBC Connecticut has a crew headed to the scene and will update this story as more information becomes available. 




Photo Credit: Willimantic Fire Department

At NRA Convention, Opposing Protests Ensue

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Three protests were planned for Saturday during day two of the National Rifle Association Convention at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.

Dallas police tweeted early Saturday morning that several streets downtown were closed, and additional roads may also close throughout the day.


The first protest, a student-led "RALLY4REFORM," started at City Hall at 10 a.m. Organizers said they're protesting "NRA leadership's dangerous agenda." 

Organizers of Rally4Reform said they are advocating against gun violence not just in schools.

"It's happening in public outdoor spaces, it’s happening in concerts, in everyday urban neighborhoods," said Azhalia Leal, who helped organize the protest.

Parents, teachers, and other groups joined the students for the rally.

Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver's father, Manuel Oliver, was also at the rally.

Oliver painted a mural during the rally featuring President Trump and NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.


About 100 people attended the second protest, a gun-rights rally organized by North Texas Patriots for Liberty, which began at City Hall at noon. The group said they're rallying to "protect our 2nd Amendment rights in the State of Texas."


The third rally was organized by the #NoRA Initiative, a group co-founded by actress Alyssa Milano. That rally started at noon at Belo Garden Park. 

Rally organizers said their objective is to "fight for gun control and combat the NRA's toxic influence over our political system."

Fred Guttenberg, the father of a Stoneman Douglas shooting victim, spoke to the crowd urging them to vote out lawmakers who refuse to pass "common sense gun reform."

He said he’d like to see the age requirement for buying all guns upped to 21, a three day waiting period, universal background checks and a ban for high capacity magazines and bump stocks. He’d also like to see red flag laws that allow law enforcement to block certain individuals, like those charged with domestic abuse, from buying guns.

"This will be a defining issue in this next election. And those of you on the wrong side of this at your next election, unless you’re choosing to retire as some are, you will be fired," Guttenberg said.

While there were no immediate reports of violence or arrests, an NBC 5 reporter observed a minor confrontation at the Belo Garden Park rally, which resulted in an NRA supporter being escorted out of the park.

Police said street closures include Young Street between Ervay Street and Griffin Street. South Akard Street between Canton Street and Young Street will also be closed. 

The closures are expected to last from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Sunday is the final day of the NRA Convention. About 80,000 people were expected to attend the event, along with 800 vendors.

On Friday, President Donald Trump spoke at the convention, along with Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Greg Abbott.

NBC 5's Meredith Yeomans, Allie Spillards and Lexie Houghtaling contributed to this report.


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Final East Haven Police Officer Injured in Explosion Released From Hospital

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The final East Haven police officer injured in an explosion in North Haven last week has been released from the hospital, police say.

According to East Haven Police, the fifth and final East Haven officer was released from the hospital on Saturday. The officer is resting comfortably at home with his family.

Ten members of the South Central Regional SWAT team were injured after a police standoff and explosion on Quinnipiac Avenue in North Haven on Wednesday, police say.

Police say the incident began as a domestic incident Wednesday afternoon when a woman contacted police. When officers arrived, they say a man inside of the home refused to communicate with officers and barricaded himself inside. The South Central Regional SWAT team was called in and while they were clearing outside of the house, there was an explosion from a barn on the property.

Officers say they found human remains on the property after the explosion while investigating, but it is unclear where and who they belong to. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine who the person was and how he or she died.

Nine members of the tactical team were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital, according to North Haven Police. They included five officers from East Haven, three from North Haven and one from Branford. Officials classified the officers' injuries as serious saying they range from concussions to leg injuries, but are not life-threatening.

It is not clear what caused the explosion. The fire marshal is still investigating the cause.

Bridgeport Hit the Jackpot Last Week, Here's Why It'll Lose this Week

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The Bridgeport delegation in the Connecticut House of Representatives scored a tremendous political victory last week, bolstering the prospects of a casino one day being built in Connecticut's largest city.

It came in the critical waning days of the legislative session.

Even though the "Request for Proposal" process that could start later this year does not explicitly mention Bridgeport, the delegation has pushed for the chance to get a casino in their backyard for years, and the 77-73 vote in the House at least makes it feel like there is momentum on their side.

But, there's not.

The vote in the House will more than likely turn out to be a symbolic gesture. It's significant, but symbolic.

The odds of passage in the Senate are long, to say the least.

Standing in the way of even discussing the issue are what can best be described as immovable objects on the issues of gambling expansion and defenders of the state's compact with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes.

Achieving 77 votes in the House was no small task, but in the evenly divided Connecticut Senate, every one of the 36 members' stances on gambling is magnified.

Let's start with Sen. Cathy Osten, (D - Sprague). She has been staunchest defender of the existing compact, and for that matter, the casinos themselves. As employers, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, are the two most important in her Senate district. She will not allow even another casino awarding process to take place if it could, even in the slightest possible way, do harm to the state's relationship with the tribes.

Remember, that MGM has been the strongest lobby behind the open and competitive bid process for a commercial casino. You also have to remember that MGM is opening its Springfield casino later in 2018, which is the entire argument the tribes had for pushing the East Windsor casino in the first place.

Next, there's Sen. Tim Larson, (D - East Hartford). Yes, he lives in East Hartford, but he represents East Windsor, the site of the state's already approved third tribal-run casino, but the first located off reservation land.

Larson has been one of the loudest supporters of the East Windsor project, touting it as the job creator the tribes' have sold it as for years.

Even supporting a RFP process for a commercial casino anywhere else in the state would be like sending a message to his constituents that he was hedging his bets on the East Windsor casino project.

On the Republican side there are Sen. Tony Hwang, (R - Fairfield), and Sen. Paul Formica, (R - East Lyme). They are likely to oppose the RFP legislation in the Senate, but for very different reasons.

First, Formica has been a supporter of the tribes' East Windsor effort, backing the argument that the southeastern casinos will emerge in a better position with traffic being diverted from MGM's Springfield casino. Second, he does not want to jeopardize the hundreds of millions in revenues for the state as a result of the compact with the tribes. He was also present for the demolition ceremony signaling the start of development at the East Windsor site. He wore a hardhat.

With Sen. Hwang, you have a staunch opponent of gambling. In May 2015, when the casino expansion debate started, Hwang said, “The fact is we have not done a thorough analysis of the societal cost of gambling.” Does that sound like someone excited about allowing for what could a be fourth casino in Connecticut?

In a chamber where you need 19 votes to pass anything, the Bridgeport and MGM sympathizers are already down possibly four, making the math incredibly difficult, if not impossible to get the House-passed bill through the upper chamber.

The merits of the Bridgeport casino can be debated, and they have been in Connecticut for years. It's possible that MGM is exactly right, that a Bridgeport casino can capture the New York market and be successful in ways an East Windsor casino can only dream of.

However, with just two days remaining for lawmakers to meet and after hitting the jackpot with Friday's House vote, it looks more like the tribes may have the political upper hand, leading Bridgeport's push to go belly-up.




Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Troopers Investigate Possible Shooting on I-95 in Stratford

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Connecticut State Police are investigating a possible shooting on Interstate 95 in Stratford on Sunday night.

According to police, shots may have been fired from a vehicle during an incident near exit 30 on I-95 northbound in Stratford.

Police had no information on if there were any victims or injuries. 


19-Year-Old Killed in ATV Crash in Union

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A teenager from Milford has died after an ATV accident in Union on Sunday morning.

According to Connecticut State Police, Bailey Gabriel Rogers of Milford was driving an ATV on Mashapaug Road in Union shortly before 8:15 a.m. when he left the road and hit a log that was on the ground. He then came to rest against a set of trees.

Rogers was prounounced dead at the scene, officers said.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Troopers ask anyone with information to contact them at (860) 896-3200.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

AG Jeff Sessions Visiting San Diego Border Monday

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions is visiting the San Diego border area Monday to discuss immigration policies, the Department of Justice announced Sunday.

Sessions will hold a 1 p.m. press conference with Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Thomas D. Homan at an undisclosed location.

The DOJ said the two will talk about the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions. The agency did not disclose any specific enforcement plans the two will discuss.

The visit comes two weeks after the caravan of asylum seekers from Central America arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The last of the of the 161 asylum seekers from the caravan crossed into the U.S. on Friday to be processed.

President Donald Trump has railed against the migrant caravan, calling them a threat to national security. He's used the caravan to rallied support for his border wall despite the fact that most asylum seekers turned themselves in to border inspectors.

Sessions last visited San Diego in April 2017 with then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to look at ways to improve border security. His visit on Monday will be the third high-profile visit to the Southern California U.S-Mexico border from the Trump administration in as many months.

In March, Trump visited San Diego to inspect the border wall prototypes and, at the end of April, Vice President Mike Pence visited the Calexico border to inspect border fence replacement there.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Shooting Closes Part of I-95 in East Lyme

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Part of I-95 in East Lyme was shut down after police say a person was shot during a distrubance on Sunday night.

According to State Police, troopers responded to the area of I-95 northbound at exit 76 for reports of a shooting. The victim was transported to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. 

The highway was briefly shut down but has since reopened. 

Troopers say the incident remains under investigation and updates will be provided as they become available. 

Police said there is no threat to the public at this time. 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Body Found in Water in Burlington

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Detectives are investigating after a body was found in a body of water in Burlington on Sunday morning.

According to police, the body was found in a body of water on Upson Road shortly after 11:00 a.m. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is now working to identify the body and determine how the person died.

There is no threat to the community, police say.

Anyone who thinks they may have information is asked to call detectives at Troop L at (860) 626-7900 or text TIP711 to 274637. Police remind the public that all calls will remain confidential.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Man Accused of Shooting from Vehicle on I-95

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State police have arrested a Bridgeport man who is accused of shooting a gun from a vehicle on Interstate 95 in Stratford and Bridgeport area on Sunday afternoon.

Police started receiving 911 calls at 3:26 p.m. with reports of a man firing a handgun from a gray Ford Focus on I-95 North, near exit 28 in Bridgeport and troopers identified a suspect, with help from the New Haven Police Department.

No one was injured in the incident, according to state police.

They said they found the vehicle on Grand Avenue in New Haven and Matthew Bouton, 27, of Bridgeport, was taken into custody and charged with illegal discharge of a firearm, second-degree breach of peace, criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment.

Bond was set at $100,000.

Bouton is due in court on May 22.






Photo Credit: Connecticut State Police
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