Connecticut
Connecticut boy, 10, sends emotional message to father’s Halloween killer during sentencing: ‘Taken from me too early’
A 10-year-old Connecticut boy heart-wrenchingly revealed that he didn’t have enough time with his late father, who was stabbed to death before they could go trick-or-treating on Halloween five years earlier.
Fernando “Chino” Rivera’s son, “Niko,” bravely delivered the powerful victim statement before his father’s killer, Terrence Johnson, was sentenced to 38 years in prison on Tuesday.
“I didn’t get enough time (with dad)…My dad deserved to stay. My dad was taken from me too early,” Niko said in a video played in the Superior Court in Milford, according to the Harford Courant.
Niko had been waiting for his father to come home so that the pair could celebrate their Halloween together in 2020, but Rivera never returned.
The 35-year-old was at the corner of Elm Street and Washington Avenue in West Haven, Conn., when Johnson, then 18, stabbed him from behind.
Rivera, who was engaged to Niko’s mother Lindsee Baez, was seriously injured in the attack and died from a neck injury at Yale New Haven Hospital the next day, according to his obituary.
Niko, only being five, was told his father died of a “boo-boo.”
Johnson was arrested and charged with murder, according to court records viewed by The Post.
He fleshed out a plea deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence to between 30 and 45 years, Baez told the outlet.
The boy recommended to the court that Johnson deserved to be booked in prison for a century, despite the killer getting under four decades.
“I wish he would go away and stay in jail for 100 years,” Niko said. “I want (dad) to know I miss him so much.”
Loved ones said Rivera’s greatest joy was “being a father and spending time with his son.”
Baez was hopeful her fiancé’s killer would spend the rest of his life in jail “in a perfect world,” but conceded to the sentencing being “a semblance of justice,” she told the court.
“You stole a life, you stole dreams, and you stole love, and no sentence can ever undo the damage you caused,” she furiously told Johnson.
“At the end of my day, my son doesn’t have a dad,” Baez said.
Rivera, a 6-foot, 350-pound man known for his tattoos, was remembered for his gentle soul, who became a stay-at-home dad after his son’s birth, affectionately being called “Papa Bear,” in the maternity ward, Baez said.
“He was truly my best friend,” she said, according to the outlet.
“We grew up together, from our teenage years into adulthood,” Baez recalled on her 17-year relationship with Rivera. “The road was bumpy along the way, but we never gave up on each other. We chose our family every single day, and that choice made him so happy.”
Connecticut
Rocky Hill water main break closes road
ROCKY HILL, Conn. (WTNH) – A water main break in Rocky Hill Sunday morning will impact traffic for much of the day on Grimes Road.
According to Rocky Hill Police the break happened at approximately 7:10 a.m. in the area of 40 Grimes Road between Louis Place and Hillside Avenue. Motorists are advised to take alternatee routes and avoid the area.
The Metropolitan District Commission is on scene making repairs which could take up to 8 hours.
Connecticut
Overnight Forecast for June 7
Connecticut
2 arrested in connection to shooting at Waterbury event hall
Two people have been arrested in connection to a shooting at an event hall in Waterbury last weekend.
Officers received information about a shooting at So Blu’Niq on Wolcott Street on Sunday around 5 a.m. It was also reported that a victim from the incident had admitted themselves to the hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.
Police said they made contact with the 27-year-old victim at the hospital. According to investigators, she had a gunshot wound to her abdomen and her arm. She is reportedly still admitted and receiving treatment, but is considered to be in stable condition.
Investigators responded to So Blu’Niq and found a crime scene. Authorities said they determined there was an isolated disturbance that happened inside the business that escalated to a firearm being discharged and the woman being hit by a projectile.
While investigating, authorities said they also determined that at the time of the incident, liquor and alcoholic beverages were illegally being sold without a permit or license.
Warrants were secured for a 50-year-old woman from Waterbury and a 29-year-old man from Waterbury.
The woman was taken into custody on Friday and is being charged with illegal sale of alcohol. She is set to appear in court on June 10.
The man was taken into custody on Wednesday and is facing charges including assault, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of a pistol/revolver by a convicted felon, illegal discharge of a firearm, reckless endangerment and carrying a pistol without a permit. He appeared in court on Thursday on a $1.5 millon bond.
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