A Hartford man who was taken into custody at Los Angeles International Airport on a warrant last month for allegedly pistol-whipping a person in West Hartford has been extradited back to Connecticut.
Edwin Franqui, who was already facing a murder conspiracy charge and was out on more than $1 million in bonds, has been charged with second-degree assault with a firearm, breach of peace and reckless driving, according to the West Hartford Police Department.
He is now being held on a more than $5 million bond and remains in custody, police said Tuesday.
Franqui was taken into custody on a warrant at LAX on Sept. 13, three days after he allegedly pistol-whipped a person in the head in the area of 11 South Main St. in West Hartford at about 2:08 a.m., police said.
CT man on bond for murder conspiracy charges arrested at LAX for alleged pistol-whipping
When officers arrived at the scene near West Hartford Center, the victim told them that they had been walking through the parking lot behind 977 Farmington Ave. exiting onto South Main Street when a vehicle was driving erratically in the parking lot and almost hit them and the group they were walking with, police said.
A confrontation erupted between the victim and someone in the vehicle, later identified as Franqui. Franqui allegedly got out of the vehicle, pulled out a gun and struck the victim on the top of the head with it, police said.
The victim was treated at a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Investigators identified Franqui as a suspect in the West Hartford assault “through extensive investigative efforts” and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was taken into custody by FBI agents, members of the Homeland Security Investigations team and the Los Angeles Police Department.
At the time, Franqui had been released from custody on a $1.25 million bond while awaiting trial in connection with a deadly Hartford shooting, records show. He has an extensive criminal history and currently has six criminal cases pending.
Franqui was arrested in Hartford in July 2020 and charged with accessory to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree assault in connection with the 2020 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Junny Lara-Velazquez on the Hartford and West Hartford line. His brother, also named Edwin Franqui, was charged in connection with the fatal shooting as well.
One of two brothers charged in 2020 fatal shooting of 19-year-old on Hartford-West Hartford line rejects plea deal
Lara-Velazquez was shot while he was in a car on Capitol Avenue that crashed into a Subway restaurant just across the West Hartford town line on July 6, 2020.
In February, Franqui rejected a plea deal from prosecutors. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a $1.25 million bond, records show. He was released on another $10,000 on charges of second-degree strangulation and violation of probation stemming from another arrest in Hartford in September 2020.
He has other pending cases in the Hartford judicial district on charges of violating a protective order and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records.
He is scheduled to appear in court next on Nov. 2, records show.