Fourth, final suspect charged in fatal shooting outside Waterbury courthouse

Police have arrested the fourth and final suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a man as he left Waterbury Superior Court alongside his young child in March.

Tory Keith, 34, of Meriden was charged Wednesday with murder and conspiracy at murder in the March 21 death of 26-year-old Jarron Chapman, according to Ryan Bessette of the Waterbury Police Department.

Bessette said in a statement that Keith was located at his residence and taken into custody by Waterbury detectives with assistance of the U.S. Marshals Task Force. He was held on $5 million bond and was expected to be arraigned Thursday in Waterbury Superior Court.

Keith was also charged in connection with multiple warrants for failure to appear in court on unrelated pending cases.

His arrest marked the fourth suspect to be charged in connection with Chapman’s death. Bessette said Thursday that investigators do not anticipate any additional arrests.

Those previously charged include 26-year-old Nicholas Chiapponi of Glastonbury, 21-year-old Deera Nelson and 29-year-old Dante Howell, both of Meriden. They each face charges of murder and conspiracy at murder.

Nelson has also been charged with hindering prosecution, and Howell faces multiple firearm charges.

Two charged with murder in death of man gunned down beside child outside CT courthouse

According to police, officers responded to the courthouse, located at 400 Grand St., just after 11:40 a.m. on the report of shots fired and found Chapman suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The attorney who had been representing Chapman in connection with his pending cases, Ioannis Kaloidis, previously told the Courant that Chapman was gunned down just moments after he appeared before a judge. Kaloidis said he shook hands with him and told him he would see him at his next court appearance moments before judicial marshals stormed into the courtroom and locked down the facility.

According to Kaloidis, Chapman was shot in front of his 2-year-old daughter and a woman he was with — neither of whom were injured — by an individual who drove up on a motorcycle and approached him before gunshots rang out. The shooter then got back onto the bike fled the area.

Though police have not released a motive in the killing, Kaloidis said it was obvious that his client was targeted and that the gunman knew he would be coming out of court at the time.

Kaloidis also went on to say none of Chapman’s cases could explain why someone would want him killed, as he was not being asked to testify against anyone.

Attorney believes man fatally shot outside Waterbury court in front of child was targeted

Court records indicate one of Chapman’s three cases was a violation of probation and the others involved threatening, assault, firearm and drug charges.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit for Howell, Chapman was walking out of the courthouse with one family member while another was in a car waiting for him. As he did, the individual with Chapman said someone on a motorcycle got off the bike and shot Chapman, the warrant affidavit said.

The other family member told police she heard gunshots and tried to block the motorcyclist with her vehicle, but the individual was able to get away.

Video surveillance in the area showed the gunman outside the courthouse shortly before 10 a.m. before he parked on the south side of Grand Street, which gave him a “clear line of sight” to the courthouse doors, according to the warrant affidavit.

The individual on the motorcycle drove around in the immediate area and at one point appeared to pull up near a Nissan Sentra that arrived and parked at the intersection of Grand and State Streets, the warrant affidavit said. One occupant of the Sentra entered the courthouse while another appeared to have a brief conversation with the operator of the motorcycle.

Video surveillance showed that the motorcyclist stayed in the area as Chapman and a family member arrived in a Nissan Altima. Shortly thereafter, the Sentra occupant left the courthouse and got back into the vehicle, police wrote.

The second person from the Sentra then also got back into the vehicle before the car moved and parked nearby.

Just before 11:40 a.m., surveillance showed Chapman and his family member walking on State Street and, as they do, the motorcyclist parks along the side of the road. After they walk past the bike, the operator gets off the motorcycle and runs up to Chapman before the latter can be seen collapsing, the warrant affidavit said.

The gunman can then be seen getting back on the bike as he flees the area, the warrant affidavit said. The Sentra can also be seen leaving the area following the shooting.

According to the warrant affidavit, investigators were able to use video surveillance to trace the Sentra to a residence in Meriden. A day after the shooting, they pulled over the Sentra and identified the driver as Nelson, the warrant affidavit said.

Police allege that Nelson was uncooperative and told investigators she was going to walk back to the residence once police said they would seize the vehicle. Authorities searched the residence later in the day after obtaining a search and seizure warrant, at which point Nelson agreed to speak with investigators at the police department.

According to the warrant affidavit, Nelson allegedly said she was an Uber driver who brought two individuals to Waterbury Superior Court the previous day. She said they were there for a short period of time before they left, picked up another individual and got food, the warrant affidavit.

During the interview, Nelson agreed to allow investigators to search her phone, though police allege she appeared evasive and untruthful throughout her questioning.

When authorities searched the Sentra, they allegedly found an invoice for work being done on a motorcycle. The name on the invoice was Howell’s, the warrant affidavit said. They also collected fingerprints and DNA that were sent to the state lab.

During a search of Nelson’s phone, investigators allegedly found a number of correspondences between her and who they believed was Howell, the warrant affidavit. Police indicate in the warrant affidavit that they believe Howell was the gunman in the shooting.

Fingerprints collected from the Sentra were later allegedly found to match Howell, the warrant affidavit said.

In the warrant affidavit charging Howell, investigators do not shed any light on what they believe served as a motive for the killing. The document also does not indicate how Chiapponi and Keith were tied to the homicide.