Hartford Man Convicted of 2008 “Cold Case” Murders

A Hartford man was convicted of two counts of Murder today for the drive-by shootings of two other men as they were walking along a street in the capital city.

HAROLD PATTERSON, age 35, was found guilty by a jury following a trial in Hartford Superior Court for the deaths of Lamar Gresham, 21, and Carlos Ortiz, 23, who were mortally wounded on Edwards Street in Hartford in the early morning hours of August 25, 2008.

Patterson was arrested as a result of an investigation by the Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney in conjunction with Hartford Police, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2019, when Patterson faces from 25 to 120 years in prison.

The homicides of Gresham and Ortiz were featured on the five of clubs card in the third edition of the cold case playing cards produced in conjunction with the Department of Correction and sold to inmates in the Connecticut corrections system.

Patterson is awaiting trial on a Murder charge in the unrelated slaying of Raymond “Flip” Hite, 34, who was shot to death on June 5, 2008, allegedly with the same gun used to kill Gresham and Ortiz. The charge is merely an accusation and Patterson is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.