Ansonia police arrested a suspect Oct. 1 in connection to a shooting that left a man paralyzed.
Kevin Boyd, 23, of Shelton, is charged with first-degree assault, criminal use of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit.
He is being held on $200,000 bond and is due in court Oct. 14. He is being represented by a public defender.
Boyd is accused of firing two shots into a 21-year-old man outside a convenience store at the intersection of North Main and Fourth streets about 8:30 p.m. Aug. 5.
A .380 caliber bullet entered the victim’s torso and struck his spine, according to an arrest warrant.
The victim, who suffered a second gunshot wound to his leg, can no longer walk.
Boyd and the victim didn’t know each other prior to the shooting, according to interviews police summarized in Boyd’s arrest warrant, but Boyd had landed himself in hot water for talking to a sister of one of the victim’s friends.
The victim and his friends ran into Boyd and his group outside the Ansonia Mini Mart Aug. 5. The victim and Boyd’s older brother began arguing, and the victim was allegedly shot as he attempted to start a fight with Boyd’s older brother.
A witness said the shooter was about five feet away from the victim.
North Main at Fourth Street is a busy intersection with a strip mall. There were many people in the area during the shooting. Police noted a woman and her young child were nearby.
The victim was able to identify Boyd through a photograph. Video surveillance and eyewitness descriptions also helped the investigation, according to the warrant.
The victim, interviewed Aug. 11 from his hospital bed in Yale-New Haven Hospital, said he regretted trying to get into a fight, but that he had lost his temper and that pushing ensued.
Then he was shot.
Boyd was interviewed at the Ansonia Police Department Sept. 28.
Boyd allegedly told police that one of the victim’s friends was angry at him because Boyd has been talking to the friend’s sister.
The victim’s friend had pulled a gun on Boyd several times prior to the Aug. 5 shooting, Boyd allegedly told police, so Boyd was nervous and afraid when he pulled out his gun and shot the man.
Boyd ran from the scene and threw the gun in a river as he walked home to Shelton, according to the warrant.
“Boyd was unsure of what happened to the victim and regrets the decisions he made that day,” the warrant concludes.
