Two men have been charged with felony murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man found lying in the street in Hamden in 2019, police said.
Darrelle McFadden, 31, and Patrick Ratliff-Jones, 29, both of New Haven, have each been charged with felony murder and first-degree robbery, according to the Hamden Police Department.
On Dec. 8, 2019, police responded to a 911 call from a citizen who reported the sound of gunfire and a person lying in the roadway on Whiting Street around 12:30 a.m., according to the Hamden Police Department.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found 21-year-old Dennis Allen-Paige of Hamden lying in the street with a gunshot wound in his chest, police said.
Responders from the local fire department treated Allen-Paige, according to police. He was then transported to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after, police said.
Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit began investigating the matter as a homicide. In 2021, police announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction the person or persons who murdered Allen-Paige.
Investigators learned that Allen-Paige was shot as he was walking home from his job at T.J. Maxx, according to police. Police allege that his death was the result of an attempted street robbery committed by several men and that Allen-Paige was shot as he ran away.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the suspects in the killing approached in a vehicle and got out of their car in the area of Whiting Street. They then approached Allen-Paige on foot and walked with him shortly before he began running away from them, the warrant affidavit said. As he did, video surveillance showed Allen-Paige was shot in the back five times before the suspects fled.
According to his obituary, Allen-Paige, a 2016 Hamden High School graduate, enjoyed playing football and basketball and loved to mix music, play his violin and write songs.
“Detective Sean Nutcher was assigned the investigation within the Hamden Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit and his assignment to the New Haven Shooting Task Force provided a unique set of resources required to enhance the investigation,” Hamden Capt. Anthony Diaz said in a release on Monday.
According to Diaz, suspects were eventually identified using contemporary forensic science and traditional investigative techniques in partnership with the New Haven Police Department.
Investigators wrote in the warrant affidavit that, last September, they learned that McFadden claimed to have knowledge of a murder that took place in Hamden. At the time, he was being held at the New Haven Correctional Center.
According to the warrant, McFadden implicated Ratliff-Jones and a second person. McFadden said he was in a vehicle with the two men when they decided to rob a random person on the street and that it led to the fatal shooting. He told investigators remained in the car but was able to see Ratliff-Jones fire the shots, the warrant affidavit said.
Investigators spoke to McFadden again in March, at which point he admitted that he was alone with Ratliff-Jones the night of the shooting and that there was no one else in the car, according to the warrant affidavit. McFadden also admitted to being involved in the robbery, though he told investigators that he did not want to participate, the warrant affidavit said.
According to the warrant affidavit, McFadden said Ratliff-Jones shot Allen-Paige five times as he took off running.
McFadden was being held in lieu of a $1.5 million bond and is scheduled to appear at the New Haven Superior Court on April 17.
Ratliff-Jones was being held in lieu of a $2.5 million bond and was scheduled to appear at the New Haven Superior Court on Tuesday.
“Hamden Chief of Police E. P. Reynolds expresses gratitude and attribution to the following agencies and personnel for their contributions: The Town of Hamden Police Department Detective Bureau and Criminal Intelligence Unit, The City of New Haven Police Department, New Haven Police Detective Thomas Blaisdell and Detective Steven Cunningham, New Haven Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit and Shooting Task Force, The Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Haven and The State of Connecticut DESPP Division of Scientific Services Forensic Laboratory,” Diaz said.
