Arrest Made In Connection To Ansonia Shoot Out

Photo by Eugene Driscoll

Police investigate the shooting in July.

ANSONIA — A 21-year-old city resident was charged Tuesday in connection to a shoot out in broad daylight over the summer on Howard Avenue.

Rajohn Joti-James was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit in connection to the July 23 shoot out during which police believe Joti-James and an unidentified person exchanged gunfire.

Joti-James was hit several times. At least a dozen shots were fired, Ansonia police told The Valley Indy at the time. The shooting happened at the intersection of Howard Avenue and Church Street at noon in a residential neighborhood not far from busy Wakelee Avenue.

Police said Thursday night they received a warrant to arrest Joti-James, but did not delve into details in a prepared statement.

Joti-James posted a $5,000 bond and is due in court Feb. 11.

Police said the investigation is continuing.

The July shooting followed two shootings in Ansonia in June (on Lester Street and Main Street).

In addition, a 19-year-old New Haven man was shot in the foot overnight Jan. 28 near Wakelee Avenue and Clarkson Street, according to Ansonia police.

At least two people posted on ValleyIndy.org complaining about the violence.

William Luneski, a small business owner and a former member of the Ansonia Economic Development Commission, said city government must get more aggressive.

“When is our leadership going to make it a priority to install cameras and gunshot detectors in the west side?” Luneski posted under a Valley Indy story. ​“We have the dollars to replace stop lights downtown where they were not needed, and yet, when you ask for cameras, we have no dollars. I have lost track of the number of shootings on the west side. No one wants to live or invest in a neighborhood that is NOT safe. There is more to Ansonia than just downtown. When will this administration get it?”

In neighboring Derby, an 18-year-old man was shot on Anson Street last January.

A 25-year-old man was shot earlier this month on Derby’s Eighth Street.

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