Homicide victim Howard Lewis (center) with family in early July.
Zoom
Wednesday afternoon’s virtual press conference.
Local detectives concluded a nearly five-month homicide investigation with the arrest of a 22-year-old New Havener for allegedly shooting and killing Howard Lewis on Munson Street on an exceptionally violent night this summer.
Police believe that Lewis was not the target of the bullet that ultimately left him dead.
Police Chief Otoniel Reyes and Assistant Chief Karl Jacobson made that announcement during a Wednesday afternoon virtual press conference, held online on Zoom and YouTube Live.
“Our detective bureau has been working over the past five months to bring justice to the family of Howard K. Lewis,” Reyes (pictured) said about the 40-year-old Hamden man who was shot dead near 354 Munson St. on July 14.
“This case is symbolic of the hard work of the men and women of this department.”
Jacobson said that the fatal shooting took place at around 6:05 p.m.
“July 14 was a very violent evening in New Haven,” he recalled. “We had two homicides and two shootings. We were here day and night working on these cases.”
Local police, firefighters, and paramedics responded to the area in response to 911 calls reporting a man shot, as well as Shotspotter confirmation that shots had been fired near that corner.
Police found Lewis in his car with a gunshot wound to the chest, Jacobson said. An ambulance transported him with life-threatening injuries to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Police held a “large scene” that night at Munson near Sherman Parkway, he said, as they canvassed the neighborhood.
Thomas Breen file photo
Munson and Sherman, the day after the fatal shooting.
After five months of investigating, police developed a 22-year-old New Haven man as a suspect allegedly responsible for Lewis’s fatal shooting.
A subsequent interview confirmed that this man was the shooter, Jacobson said.
That interview also confirmed that Lewis was not the intended target.
On Dec. 7, city police filed secured an arrest warrant charging the man with murder and criminal possession of a firearm.
Jacobson said that the suspect is currently incarcerated for violating probation, and that he will be brought to court on these new charges.
When asked about the work that he and his colleagues put in on this case over the past five months, Conklin (pictured) praised different units of the department, including financial crimes and robbery and burglary, as well as the departments of probation and parole. “Everyone stepped up big,” he said.
Conklin was also asked about how the Covid-19 pandemic affected conducting a homicide investigation. “You still need to get out there,” he said. “You still need to talk to people. So you go out cautiously, safely.”
Sgt. Bertram Etienne said that the department does have information on who was targeted in that July 14 shooting on Munson Street that left Lewis dead. He said the case is still an open investigation.
“It was a large crime scene,” Jacobson added. “There were a few vehicles involved.” He said he’s glad to report that there hasn’t been any gun activity in the area since that incident.
At this time in the ongoing investigations into the two shootings and two homicides that took place on July 14, Jacobson said, the department does not believe that those four gun-related incidents are connected.
“It’s been such a difficult time for our city,” Mayor Justin Elicker (pictured) said. To Lewis’s family, he said, “Nothing can bring back your son, your husband, your family member. We are so sorry for your loss. I’m glad today we can bring some sense of closure. You deserve that sense of justice, but you never deserved” the pain that comes with the loss of a loved one.
“We know this doesn’t bring Mr. Lewis back,” Reyes said, “but we hope that the department has been able to bring you a measure of closure and help you in the process of healing for the loss of your loved one.”
Lewis’s parents and wife joined in on the call, and requested in advance not to take any questions from the press.
At the vend of the video conference, they told the police on the call, “Thank you. Thank you so much. You guys did a great job.”