The victim of a brutal assault near downtown Shelton the night of St. Patrick’s Day sustained a cut to his head that required seven staples to close, lost all but a handful of his top row of teeth, and will require reconstructive plastic surgery after losing part of his upper lip.
That detail and others are contained in a 15-page affidavit on file at Superior Court in Derby detailing the police investigation into the assault which sent 32-year-old Jason Chevrier to Bridgeport Hospital in critical condition.
The assault took place near the intersection of Kneen Street and Coram Avenue about midnight on March 18, according to the affidavit.
Police received several 911 calls shortly thereafter reporting a man lying in the road between two parked cars. Chevrier was unconscious and bleeding heavily from head wounds when police first arrived on the scene, according to the affidavit.
Officers couldn’t locate anyone who saw the assault, but they did find witnesses who reported hearing a “commotion” in the area and saw a group of men running away yelling, “That’s what you get!”
At the scene detectives found a number of Chevrier’s bloody teeth in the road and a large pool of blood where his head had been positioned when he was lying unconscious.
Later in the investigation, the affidavit says, several witnesses told police Chevrier had been in the area of Howe Avenue and Kneen Street that day and night and had also spent time in several apartments at the “corner block,” an apartment building at the corner of Howe Avenue and Brewster Lane.
“This building is known by these officers to have a heavy drug and violence-related history with the Shelton Police Department,” the affidavit says.
Outside the building just before midnight, witnesses told police Chevrier had gotten into an argument with some residents and been told to leave.
Instead, witnesses said, he picked up a two-by-four he found nearby and starting swinging it while claiming he would call the “Latin Kings” to fight those with whom he was arguing.
But when a group of men then came out of the building with weapons, Chevrier dropped the two-by-four and ran away, up Kneen Street. The group caught up with him near the intersection of Kneen Street and Coram Avenue where he was eventually found.
Interviews by police eventually led detectives to one of the residents of the “corner block” building, Daniel Zeleznik, who initially denied being involved in the attack but confessed he took part after being arrested, the affidavit says.
The affidavit says Zeleznik told police that, looking back, he should have handled the situation differently, but that he “just lost it” when he saw Chevrier swinging the two-by-four.
In addition to Zeleznik, police have arrested Andrew O’Connell, a relative of Zeleznik’s roommate who they say was at the apartment that day and also took part in the attack.
Both were charged with first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
Zeleznik posted $100,000 bond after his arrest March 25 and is due to appear at Superior Court in Derby April 9.
Police charged O’Connell two days later and held him in lieu of $250,000 bond. He was arraigned Wednesday, where a judge lowered the bond to $100,000 and continued the case to April 11. He is being held at Bridgeport Correctional Center, according to state Department of Correction records.
A third suspect is named in the affidavit but has not yet been charged by police.
Police say they have obtained an arrest warrant and are actively looking for the person.