(Middletown, CT) – Middlesex Judicial District State’s Attorney Michael A. Gailor today announced that a jury in Middletown Superior Court on October 25, 2024, found Antwan Rufus, of Middletown, guilty of two counts of Assault in the First Degree, one in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-59(a)(1), and the other in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-59(a)(5), one count of Carrying a Pistol without a Permit, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 29-35(a)(1), and one count of Weapon in a Motor Vehicle, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 29-38(a). On October 28, 2024, the Honorable Laura F. Baldini also found the defendant guilty of two counts that were tried to the court, Criminal Possession of a Firearm in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-217(a)(1) and Criminal Possession of a Pistol in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-217c(a)(1).
According to evidence introduced at trial, on May 1, 2021, the defendant, who previously had been convicted of a felony, shot and seriously wounded an individual at Traverse Square in Middletown.
The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Germain, with the assistance of Inspectors Joseph Flynn and Mark Miele, Paralegal Specialist Katarzyna Lekarczyk, from the Middletown State’s Attorney’s Office, and Jessica Nocera Pepper, Program Manager from the Office of Ethics and Professional Standards at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in Rocky Hill.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 16, 2025 in Middletown Superior Court.