(Vernon, CT) - Craig P. Nowak, State’s Attorney for the Tolland Judicial District, today announced that a jury in the Tolland Superior Court at Rockville on March 5, 2026 found Timothy Lange, age 36, of New Britain, guilty of Kidnapping in the Second Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-94(a), Felony Murder, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54c and Tampering with Evidence, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-155(a)(1). The Honorable Tejas Bhatt presided over the trial.
Evidence at trial showed that the victim, Jason Comes, age 38, of Massachusetts, and the defendant were at an East Windsor bar early on August 4, 2021. Surveillance cameras showed the defendant arriving with four men, and later the victim’s car leaving the bar behind the defendant’s motorcycle. The victim’s car, the defendant’s pickup driven by another man, and a fourth car followed the motorcycle through Enfield, where all but the fourth car stopped briefly at a gas station. All three then continued to an address on Moody Road. About six minutes earlier, another vehicle had entered that address. About 90 minutes later, two vehicles were seen leaving the property and heading east toward Somers, where cameras captured them traveling toward Durkee Road.
During the mid-morning on August 5, 2021, the owner of land located on Durkee Road contacted police stating that he found a car parked in a field on his property. The police arrived and found the victim laying unresponsive on the rear seat with a gunshot wound to his torso. His feet were bound with tape, and a belt was wrapped around his left wrist. Paramedics pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on August 5, 2021, the Woodbridge Volunteer Fire department was dispatched to 50 Woodfield Road, Woodbridge for a vehicle fire. The Woodbridge Fire Marshal and the Woodbridge Police Department identified the vehicle as the defendant’s pickup, the same truck that was seen on the cameras driving in the early morning hours of August 4, 2021. Investigators found DNA evidence on the victim’s clothing linking the defendant to the kidnapping and subsequent death of the victim. Cell phone evidence was used to establish the movements of the defendant and the man who drove his pickup on the dates of August 3 to August 5, 2021.
After announcing the guilty verdict, Judge Bhatt increased the defendant’s bond to $3.5 million. He is being held on this bond while awaiting sentencing which is scheduled for May 29, 2026 at the Tolland Superior Courthouse in Rockville.
State’s Attorney Nowak prosecuted the case with the assistance of Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Terence D. Mariani, Jr. and Inspector P.J. Clark. State’s Attorney Nowak would like to thank Detective Waylon Kimball of the Connecticut State Police, Troop C, Eastern District Major Crime (EDMC), paramedics from the Town of Somers Fire Department, the Office of Adult Probation, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, members of Connecticut State Police, members of the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Task Force Officer Michael Beauton of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cellular Analysis Survey Team (CAST), Woodbridge Fire Marshal’s Office, Woodbridge Police Department, Southington Police Department, Somers Police Department and Enfield Police Department for their work and assistance with this case.