FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(New Haven, CT) – John P. Doyle, Jr., New Haven State’s Attorney, announced today that Marcus Rivera of New Haven entered guilty pleas on December 22, 2022 to charges of Attempted Assault in the First Degree, Attempted Assault on a Public Safety Officer, Carrying a Pistol Without a Permit and Possession of Narcotics with Intent to Sell.
The guilty pleas to those charges stem from the January 2019 attempted shooting of New Haven Police Detective Francisco Sanchez. Rivera also entered guilty pleas to Assault in the First Degree and Carrying a Pistol Without a Permit for the shooting of a woman in the Fair Haven section of New Haven in December 2018.
According to court records, on January 8, 2019, Rivera pointed a firearm in the direction of Detective Sanchez while fleeing from New Haven Police Detectives. There was an exchange of gunfire after Rivera pointed a firearm at Detective Sanchez. Rivera was struck in his pelvis area. The facts and circumstances surrounding the incident were investigated by the Western District Major Crime Squad (WDMCS) of the Connecticut State Police in 2019 and it was determined that based on the facts in this case, Detective Sanchez was justified under Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-22(c) in using deadly physical force. Link to the report is here.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, Rivera faces a maximum of 10 years to serve and a minimum of 5 years to serve followed by a three-year period of probation to be determined by the Honorable Gerald L. Harmon when Rivera is sentenced in New Haven Superior Court on March 8, 2023.
These cases were prosecuted by State’s Attorney Doyle and Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa R. Holmes. Supervisory Inspector Robert Sage of the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office assisted in this investigation. The State’s Attorney thanks the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad for their thorough investigation of the January 2019 incident and the New Haven Police Department for their cooperation and professionalism during the pendency of that investigation and their own investigation of the December 2018 incident.