The victim of a shooting in Ansonia didn’t just know the alleged trigger man, he had seen him just minutes before the violence.
That is according to an arrest warrant city detectives used to arrest 18-year-old Gordon Cole Dec. 26 on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and carrying a weapon without a permit.
The charges stem from an incident at 2:41 p.m. on Dec. 22, when police responded to a call saying a man had been shot behind an apartment house on Lester Street.
According to the arrest warrant, the victim, a 22-year-old Derby resident, rode his moto-scooter to his friend’s apartment on Lester Street and noticed Cole standing outside wearing a hooded sweat shirt.
Sometime later, the victim was behind the residence working on his scooter when Cole allegedly approached him with his hoodie pulled partially over his head.
Cole allegedly tried to rob the victim, but a struggle ensued after Cole reached into the victim’s pocket.
Cole shot the Derby man in the hip, according to the warrant, and then tried to shoot a second time but the weapon wouldn’t fire. A nearby witness described a similar scenario to police, according to the arrest warrant.
The victim told police he recognized Cole even though his hood was pulled up. In fact, the victim attended Derby schools with Cole and his extended family. He picked Cole out of a photo display, as did an anonymous witness who tipped off detectives. A third witness was unable to pick out Cole after being shown photos.
The victim suffered a single gunshot wound to his left hip. The type of gun used wasn’t clear.
Ansonia police publicly identified Cole as a suspect in the shooting two days after it happened. They caught up with him on Ansonia Housing Authority property on Olson Drive at about 6:45 p.m. Dec. 26. Police listed Cole’s address as Enterprise, Ala.
A witness told police that up to five men all wearing hooded sweatshirts approached the victim just before he was shot, according to the arrest warrant, but that witness did not know who the other men were. One witness apparently talked to the victim, but refused to give information to police.
The victim was treated at Bridgeport Hospital.
As of Dec. 23 the bullet was still lodged in his hip. Doctors told him it would probably resurface on its own, but if his condition worsened surgery was a possibility.
Cole is still in custody. He’s due back in court Jan. 14.
