Cops make second arrest in deadly shooting of CT toddler
FILE - File image of crime scene tape. (FOX TV Stations)
CONNECTICUT - A second person has been arrested in the deadly drive-by shooting of a 3-year-old Connecticut boy who was not the intended target, said police.
A juvenile was charged Wednesday with accessory to murder and second-degree larceny. Hartford Police said the youth was driving a stolen vehicle from which shots were fired, killing Randell Jones on April 10 as he sat in a parked car with his mother and other people.
A passenger who police say was the intended target crawled over Randell’s mother and out her driver’s side, reported the Hartford Courant.
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Jaziah Smith, 19, was charged Monday with murder. Smith is held on $2.5 million bond. The warrant for his arrest has been sealed.
The juvenile is being held on $1 million at a juvenile detention center in Hartford.
Hartford police said the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy two hours later was related to the killing of Jones. Authorities haven’t said how the shootings were connected. No one has been charged in the killing of the teen, Jamari Preston.
The shootings have led to demonstrations in Hartford and calls by some state lawmakers and community leaders to increase funding for urban anti-violence programs.
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Smith was out on bond in another criminal case, In 2020, he was arrested on charges of carrying a pistol without a permit and third-degree trespassing, and released on a $75,000 professional surety bond, added the Courant.