On a late Thursday morning in New Haven, Connecticut, a dispute between business partners turned fatal, ending the life of 39-year-old Juan Carlos Colon. A Hispanic male born in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, Colon was a married father of two and the owner of Primetime Auto Sales & Repairs on Forbes Avenue. On April 27, 2023, what began as a verbal argument with his business partner, Charles V.
Brown Jr., escalated with tragic finality inside the walls of their shared enterprise.
Police received a 911 call around 11 a.m. reporting a person had been shot at the used car dealership. The caller, later identified as Brown, initially told the dispatcher that the person responsible for the shooting had already fled the scene. He would later claim he said this to avoid delaying medical help for Colon. When officers arrived at the scene, Brown flagged them down and led them to a back room, described as a "tattoo studio," where they found Colon on the floor, unresponsive. He had been shot in the back. Emergency medical personnel administered CPR and managed to restore Colon's pulse before rushing him to Yale New Haven Hospital, but his injuries proved too severe, and he succumbed to them shortly after arrival.
The investigation swiftly focused on the man who had made the emergency call. Brown, a 47-year-old from Clinton, admitted to the police that he was the one who shot Colon. He stated that the two had been arguing over business matters, alleging that Colon owed him approximately $40,000 and was mismanaging their joint venture. According to Brown's account, the argument turned physical, and he grabbed an illegally purchased pistol. He claimed Colon charged at him, leading to a struggle during which he fired the weapon. Investigators found three spent shell casings at the scene.
Charles V. Brown Jr. was taken into custody on the same day as the shooting. He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was arraigned the following day and held on a $2 million bond. The sudden and violent end to Juan Carlos Colon's life left his family to grieve the loss of a man they described as a loving husband, a devoted father, and the rock of their family.
