Press Releases
08/09/2023
Jury Finds Bloomfield Man Guilty of Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Arson and Evidence Tampering Charges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, CT) – Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford State’s Attorney, today announced that a jury in Hartford Superior Court on August 4, 2023, found Kwanze Fluker, age 27, of Bloomfield, guilty of the crimes of Conspiracy to Commit Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § § 53a-48/53a-54a(a), Arson in the Second Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-112a(1)(B) and Tampering with Physical Evidence in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-155(a)(1). The Honorable Carl J. Schuman presided over the trial.
According to evidence introduced at trial, Fluker conspired with Emmanuel Floyd as they worked in unison to follow, lie in wait and ultimately fatally shoot Dominique Miller, age 22, of Bloomfield, as he sat waiting in a 2020 Polaris Slingshot for a traffic control light in Windsor Locks on August 29, 2021. Video surveillance and cell phone analysis records showed that on that date, both Fluker and Floyd followed the victim for over an hour around Bloomfield, onto I-91, and to the Exit 42 highway ramp where numerous shots were fired at the victim. The victim died of gunshot wounds to his head and neck.
Further evidence showed hundreds of phone calls between the two defendants in the days leading up to the murder including a 90-minute call up to and during the time of the shooting on August 29, 2021. Evidence showed there were photos of the victim taken from social media screenshotted on Floyd’s phone before and after the murder as well as internet searches on his phone of the murder scene, guns, the speed of a Polaris Slingshot and car washes. On September 3, 2021, when the State Police attempted to stop Fluker in the vehicle he was driving at the time of the murder, Fluker rammed his vehicle into multiple state trooper vehicles and vehicles both occupied and unoccupied by civilians in Hartford. Fluker evaded State Police in Hartford and fled to East Hartford where he set his car on fire in an attempt to conceal his involvement in the murder. DNA evidence recovered from the car as well as video surveillance evidence connected Fluker to the crimes.
Floyd has pleaded guilty to a charge of Murder in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-54a. He is scheduled for sentencing on September 7, 2023 in Hartford Superior Court.
Sentencing for Fluker is scheduled for October 12, 2023 in Hartford Superior Court.
“This was a complex case with more than 50 witnesses,” State’s Attorney Walcott said. “The trial team worked tirelessly bringing this case together. I hope this verdict gives Mr. Miller’s family a measure of peace."
The Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office wishes to extend its gratitude for the efforts of the East Hartford Fire Department, the East Hartford Police Department, the Milford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police, particularly State Police Sgt. Christopher Scott of the Violent Crime Task Force, formerly of the Central District Major Crime Squad. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Samantha Magnani, with assistance from Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Jesse Giddings, Inspectors Thomas Steck and Carlos Ocasio, Paralegal Specialists Kelly De La Cruz and Darwin Contreras and certified legal intern Olivia Jones.