CT man charged after road rage allegedly leads to shooting

A man charged with homicide this week allegedly fatally shot a Hartford man during a road rage incident in the city last August, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

Brian Jones, 28, of Hartford, was arrested Wednesday on charges of murder, criminal possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a firearm, according to court records.

The charges stem from the murder of Angel Martinez, 32, on August 14, 2023, shortly after 7 p.m., when police received a ShotSpotter notification alerting them to nine gunshots in the 400 block of Granby Street, near from Weaver High School. , according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Moments later, the Hartford Police Department received a report of a serious car crash on Lyme Street, about a block east of where the shots were fired .

Responding officers found a Honda Accord with heavy front-end damage up against a car parked unoccupied. The Honda was shot in the rear passenger door and trunk, the warrant affidavit states.

Martinez was found unconscious in the driver's seat, covered in blood, police wrote in the warrant affidavit. He was pronounced dead at 7:23 p.m. and an autopsy later revealed he died of a gunshot wound to the neck. The death was ruled a homicide.

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Video surveillance in the area of ​​the shooting allegedly showed a black Infiniti QX60 traveling south on Granby Street before stopping at a stop sign near Tower Avenue and allowing another motorist to pass, according to the warrant affidavit.

The Infiniti reportedly remained at the stop sign until a Honda pulled alongside it, where both vehicles remained for a “brief moment” before the Infiniti took off southbound on Granby, the warrant affidavit states. The Honda took off shortly after heading east on Tower Avenue where the vehicle stopped and Martinez got out to check on his injuries.

According to the warrant affidavit, Martinez then got back into the Honda and headed south on Lyme Street where he struck several utility poles and a parked car.

The lead investigator on the case was able to interview a person who witnessed the shooting. The witness said he heard the drivers of the Infiniti and Honda talking briefly to each other before the shots were fired, the warrant affidavit states.

“Yo, are you okay?” the driver of the Honda allegedly asked, the witness told police.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the Infiniti driver allegedly replied, according to the warrant affidavit.

The witness then said he saw the driver of the Infiniti point a gun out the window and fire several shots, according to the warrant affidavit.

The witness described the shooter as a man in his 20s or 30s with gold teeth, according to the warrant affidavit.

Investigators were able to review private surveillance footage in the area that allegedly showed what happened in the minutes leading up to the shooting and led detectives to believe the altercation began as a road rage incident , the warrant affidavit states. The footage reportedly showed the Infiniti driving behind the Honda on Granby Street until a section of the road changed from two lanes to one, where the Infiniti appeared to attempt unsuccessfully to pass the Honda, according to the warrant affidavit.

The Infiniti was then seen driving erratically behind the Honda with its brake lights flashing, while the driver allegedly swerved back and forth, according to the warrant affidavit.

A detective alleged in the warrant affidavit that the behavior displayed by the Infiniti driver appeared consistent with road rage.

After the shooting, Hartford police released photos of the Infiniti to other law enforcement agencies across the state and were alerted on August 15, 2023 that a patrol officer in Wethersfield had spotted a car matching the description parked at the Folly Brook apartment complex. the warrant affidavit states. A spent shell casing could have been clearly seen inside the vehicle, police said, according to the warrant affidavit.

Although it did not have a license plate, police allegedly discovered the vehicle was registered to Jones, according to the warrant affidavit.

Hartford investigators responded to the scene and seized the vehicle before obtaining a search warrant to examine the interior. A search of the car allegedly revealed the presence of a live round inside stamped “Blazer 9mm Luger,” which was the same brand and caliber as the spent shell casings found at the scene, according to the warrant affidavit. .

Investigators also took samples from inside the vehicle and sent them to the state lab to be tested for gunshot residue and DNA.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Jones was a previously convicted felon whose most recent conviction was in September 2015 for carrying a firearm without a license and unlawful discharge of a firearm, the warrant affidavit states . Due to his prior felony convictions, he previously submitted a DNA sample which is on file with the state.

Two days after the shooting, Jones allegedly called the Hartford Police Department and reported that his Infiniti was stolen on Aug. 14, according to the warrant affidavit. When detectives went to the Charlotte Street residence where Jones said he was, they spoke to his mother and she told them he did not live there, the warrant affidavit states.

As investigators were leaving, a white Jeep Compass arrived with a woman inside who identified herself as Jones' sister, police wrote. After approaching the residence, she returned to the Compass, where detectives could see a man with what appeared to be gold teeth in the driver's seat, the warrant affidavit states.

Jones' sister told police the man was her boyfriend and had nothing to do with their investigation, the warrant affidavit states.

Police said they were unable to determine whether the man was Jones before the vehicle took off, police wrote. Investigators followed the Compass and reportedly attempted to stop it, but the driver fled the scene.

Two days later, the vehicle was spotted in the area of ​​Main and Belden streets, where police stopped it and spoke to a Manchester man who was alone inside, the warrant affidavit states. Investigators could not determine whether the man was the same driver days earlier who had refused to stop. His DMV photo partially showed his teeth, which appeared to be gold plated, investigators said.

Detectives then focused on Jones and the Manchester man during their investigation, which they say led them to believe Jones was the suspected shooter.

Investigators obtained a search and seizure warrant for Jones' cellphone records, which allegedly showed the device was in the area of ​​the shooting when the homicide occurred, the warrant affidavit states.

In October, detectives learned that a preliminary examination of DNA taken from inside the Infiniti contained a mixture that allegedly included Jones' DNA profile, according to the warrant affidavit. Police noted that the Manchester man arrested by investigators in the months prior to the Infiniti was also a convicted felon with his DNA on file, although it did not match any of the swabs collected.

Additionally, lab reports returned in November 2023 allegedly showed that swabs taken from inside the Infiniti contained particles consistent with those commonly found in gunshot residue, according to the warrant affidavit.

In December, investigators obtained a search and seizure warrant to collect a DNA sample from Jones, although he could not be located despite the distribution of a “wanted flyer” to police in Hartford and surrounding agencies, the warrant affidavit states.

The arrest warrant affidavit for Jones was signed by a judge on February 29.

Jones was taken into custody Wednesday after being located by members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force and Hartford Police Violent Crimes Unit at a residence on Charlotte Street.

He was initially held on $800,000 bail and arraigned later that day in Hartford Superior Court, where Judge David Gold increased his bail to $1.5 million, according to court records .

Jones remains in custody and is due back in court on June 26.