New Haven man sentenced to 45 years in prison for 2019 murder

A New Haven man was sentenced to 45 years in prison on Wednesday in connection with a fatal shooting on Court Street in December 2019, according to the Division of Criminal Justice.

Robert Parris, 56, was sentenced by Judge Jon M. Alander on Wednesday after he was found guilty of murder, criminal possession of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit on Jan. 25, 2023, in connection with the death of 55-year-old Michael Rosario. He was also convicted of criminal possession of a pistol or revolver in a separate case.

The New Haven Police Department was called to 109 Court St. at about 4:15 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2019, on reports of a man shot. When they arrived, they found Rosario with a gunshot wound to his head. Rosario died the following day at Yale New Haven Hospital, according to the DCJ.

Police said it appeared that Rosario and Parris knew each other and that the shooting followed some sort of verbal argument between the two men.

At the time of his arrest, Parris also had an active arrest warrant for violating a protective order, according to New Haven police.