(Bridgeport, CT) - Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Bridgeport, today announced that a three-judge panel of the Superior Court found Derrick Francis, age 43, of Bronx, New York, guilty of Murder, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes 53a-54a(a).
The three-judge panel composed of the Honorable Earl B. Richards III, the Honorable Eliot D. Prescott, and the Honorable Peter A. McShane unanimously found the defendant guilty of the shooting death of the mother of his child on April 6, 2023 in an apartment he shared with her in Bridgeport.
Francis had immediately fled to Solon, Ohio where he was apprehended two days later by police officers who stopped the vehicle in which he was a passenger because they had an arrest warrant for the driver. Francis fled from police during the traffic stop, but was captured after a short foot chase. Ohio officers recovered a gun under the vehicle’s passenger seat that the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory determined was consistent with having fired the cartridge cases recovered from the crime scene.
In coming to their verdict, the judges found that Francis had failed to prove his affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance.
Corradino, who tried the case for the State, praised the work of both the Bridgeport and Solon, Ohio police departments.
“We were fortunate to have very professional, effective police officers in this case,” Corradino said. “Through their efforts, we have been able to obtain justice for the victim’s family.”
Inspector Edward Zack and Paralegal Christina Bennett assisted Corradino in the presentation of the case.
Francis faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison when he is sentenced by the panel on June 5, 2025.