A years-long dispute over water runoff prompted a 73-year-old Woodbridge Avenue man to shoot his next-door neighbor Easter morning, according to police.
On Monday a judge at Superior Court in Derby ordered the man, Steven Sentementes, held on $600,000 bond, noting the serious nature of the charges against him.
The judge also pointed out the charges could be even more serious if not for the heroic actions of the neighbor Sentementes is accused of shooting, who police say tackled Sentementes and held him down until cops arrived despite bleeding profusely from multiple gunshot wounds.
Ansonia Police Lt. Andrew Cota said Monday that officers were dispatched to 97R Woodbridge Ave. about 9:15 a.m. Sunday (April 20) on a report of a neighbor dispute involving a handgun.
Cota said a 39-year-old resident of the home was sitting in front of the house Sunday when Sentementes came by unannounced.
“(Sentementes) shows up, pulls out a gun and starts shooting at him,” Cota said.
Sentementes then chased the man, whose family was home at the time, into the house, Cota said.
He also kept shooting, hitting the 39-year-old in the buttocks, left leg, and right calf, Cota said.
At some point during the ordeal, Cota said the victim tackled Sentementes and the two tumbled down the home’s basement stairs. The two men ended up on the floor of the basement, where the homeowner held down Sentementes until officers responding to the scene arrived.
Cops quickly separated the two, and the victim was taken to Bridgeport Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
Cota said the man was still in the hospital as of late Sunday.
At the scene officers seized the .380-caliber handgun Sentementes was accused of shooting his neighbor with, as well as several shell casings, bullet fragments, and bloody pieces of clothing.
Cota said Monday that detectives are still piecing together the details of the case, but that the shooting was rooted in a years-long water runoff issue Sentementes had with his neighbors.
The victim’s house is on higher ground than Sentementes’, Cota said, which caused water to run off onto Sentementes’ property.
Cota said the issue was “brewing behind the scenes for quite some time,” though police hadn’t been sent to the address recently.
Police believe Sentementes’ issue with run-off from the property dates back to before the current residents owned the home.
The lieutenant said it doesn’t appear that anything happened Sunday morning specifically that prompted Sentementes to attack his neighbor.
“This was out of the blue,” Cota said. “They had not been having problems. There were no physical disputes or anything like that in the recent past that we had.”
Sentementes was arraigned Monday at Superior Court in Derby on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment, and illegal discharge of a firearm.
A bail commissioner said Sentementes had two prior convictions, for breach of peace in 2001 and disorderly conduct in 1987.
Prosecutor Paul Gaetano asked Judge Richard Lee to set bond for Sentementes at $750,000, noting the seriousness of the case.
“The allegations are he forced his way into the home of this victim, engaged in a dispute with the victim, then shot his way into the home and pointed a gun at the victim, stating ‘I’m going to shoot you,’” Gaetano said. “But for the heroic actions of this victim in tackling this defendant and knocking him down the stairwell, he’d be facing much more serious charges.”
Public Defender Bruce Weiant asked the judge to set bond for Sentementes at $100,000, saying his client’s record was minimal, and that he has substantial ties to the community.
He also asked that Sentementes be given a psychological evaluation while behind bars if he held on bond.
Judge Lee agreed with Gaetano, telling Sentementes he was setting such a high bond because of “essentially a danger to the community if you are at large.”
“The charges are so serious, and as the prosecutor said, they could have been even more serious but for the victim,” Judge Lee told Sentementes.
The judge ordered Sentementes not to have any contact with the man he’s accused of shooting or his family, and, if he posts bond, to stay away from his neighbor’s house.
Sentementes is scheduled to return to court May 12, at which time the case will probably be transferred to Superior Court in Milford, which handles more serious cases.
