An Ansonia man accused of killing a distant relative outside a Derby bar is scheduled to go on trial Tuesday in Milford.
Cordaryl Silva, 26, is charged with murdering 22-year-old Javon Zimmerman in the parking lot of RJ’s Cafe on Elizabeth Street on May 12, 2012.
The two were distant cousins and were allegedly involved in a drug-dealing crew.
Zimmerman was shot several times and was pronounced dead at Griffin Hospital shortly after the incident.
At the time of the shooting, Zimmerman was the subject of a police investigation in which Silva was being used to provide information.
Silva’s family acknowledge their was a long-simmering feud between Silva, Zimmerman and Zimmerman’s extended family, but insist Silva didn’t kill the young man.
Authorities, though, say they have a solid case.
A RJ’s patron reportedly entered the bar moments after the shooting shouting “Cordaryl shot Javon!” according to a police affidavit.
A 12-person jury was selected for the trial last month.
Most prosecutions don’t make it all the way to trial, but Silva’s case was going that way as of March 26, when his name appeared on the criminal case docket in Superior Court in Milford.
Silva did not appear in the courtroom, but prosecutor Charles Stango told Judge Frank Iannotti he and Silva’s lawyer, Lawrence Hopkins, were just “tying up loose” ends in preparation for the trial.
Stango had offered Silva a plea deal that would have seen him serve 30 years in prison, but Silva rejected that deal in November 2012.
Stango said last week he hasn’t made any new plea offers to Silva in the case.
Hopkins talked briefly with Silva in the courthouse lockup Wednesday but said after court there were no developments in the case.
“We’re still going to trial,” Hopkins said.
The state’s judicial branch website shows a trial date of April 1 with a start time of 10 a.m.
