Press Releases
02/16/2022
Juvenile Pleads Guilty to Felony Murder in Connection with Death of Stamford Man
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Stamford, CT) – Paul J. Ferencek, State’s Attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, announced today that a juvenile male has pleaded guilty to a charge of Felony Murder in connection with the death of Lwidji Brun, age 32, of Stamford.
Stamford Police responded to 90 Ursula Place, in Stamford, on May 18, 2021, following reports that the male homeowner had been shot by intruders. Police found Brun on the floor of his living room, fatally wounded by three gunshots. Brun’s girlfriend and 2-year-old daughter were in the home at the time of the homicide.
An extensive search for surveillance footage by investigators resulted in the discovery of numerous videos showing three suspects traveling over one and half miles from the south end of Stamford to Brun’s home on May 18, 2021, according to court records. During their travel, the suspects wore face masks and hoods to mask their identities, despite the 80+ degree weather. Private surveillance footage from the scene of the homicide showed two of the suspects run into the home and the sound of three gunshots shortly thereafter. All three suspects then ran from the home. Additional surveillance footage showed the suspects changing their appearance and discarding their masks as they fled together, which allowed them to be identified. A pair of glasses left behind at the scene contained DNA that matched one of the suspects, a male juvenile.
On May 27, 2021, police arrested Rudi Reyna-Morales, age 16, and a 14-year-old male juvenile. The third suspect, Deandre Parsons, age 23, was later apprehended in Massachusetts by the United States Marshals Service. All three were charged with Felony Murder and Home Invasion. Reyna-Morales was initially arraigned in juvenile court but his case was later transferred to the adult docket. Due to a 2015 change in the law raising the age at which a juvenile charged with a Class A or Class B felony can be transferred to the adult docket from 14 to 15, the juvenile male’s case remained in juvenile court.
On February 15, 2022, the juvenile male pleaded guilty before a Superior Court judge to Felony Murder. Due to the law in juvenile court, the most the juvenile can be sentenced to is 18 months of probation supervision with residential placement, which may be extended by not more than 12 months by the court for good cause. If the juvenile has not been convicted of any offenses for at least four years following completion of his sentence, he can petition the court to erase his juvenile record.
Prior to his arrest in this case, the juvenile male had been arrested at least six times for violent crimes, according to court records.
The cases of Reyna-Morales and Parsons are pending in Superior Court. All three cases are being prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel E. Cummings with assistance from Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Bivona.
“The Stamford/Norwalk State’s Attorney’s Office is grateful for the work of the Stamford Police Department, in particular Sergeant Jennifer Lynch for her dedication to getting justice for Mr. Brun,” State’s Attorney Ferencek said.