The quiet of a Saturday morning in the Beaver Hills neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, was broken by gunfire on April 1, 2023. Around 7:55 a.m., police responded to multiple 911 calls and a ShotSpotter alert that registered nine rounds near Winthrop Avenue and Goffe Terrace. Officers arrived to find two men shot inside a parked Acura MDX. The passenger, a 27-year-old Hispanic man named Jonathan Garcia of New Haven, was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver, 40-year-old Marquis Darnell McNeil, was found deceased at the scene.
At the scene, police encountered 39-year-old Cadell Harris, who was on special parole for a 2017 firearm offense. When questioned, Harris was uncooperative and belligerent, requiring officers to physically restrain him. He was initially arrested for interfering with police. As the investigation into the double homicide progressed, detectives from the Major Crimes Unit identified Harris as the primary suspect. Investigators found the murder weapon near the vehicle, and forensic analysis later revealed Harris's DNA on it. Surveillance footage from city and private cameras also captured Harris exiting the rear of the Acura immediately after the shots were fired and attempting to leave the area.
In July 2023, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Cadell Harris, charging him with two counts of murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit. At a press conference announcing the charges, Jonathan Garcia’s mother, Jessica Alvarez, spoke about the devastating impact of her son’s death. Recalling the moment she was notified, she called it "the worst phone call any mother can receive." Standing with family members who held photos of Jonathan, she asked, "How could you kill someone that you considered a friend?"
On June 22, 2026, Cadell Harris pleaded guilty in New Haven Superior Court to two counts of murder and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. At his sentencing hearing on September 3, 2026, both the Garcia and McNeil families were present. Harris apologized for his actions, stating in court that he was friends with the victims. "I wasn’t in my right state of mind," he said. "I want you to know I sincerely, genuinely, wholeheartedly apologize for my actions.” Judge Tracey Lee Dayton sentenced Harris to 45 years in prison. As of September 2026, the case was closed.
