On the cold evening of December 30, 2022, a 27-year-old Hispanic male named Ernie Negroni-Feliciano was sitting in his car on Saltonstall Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut. The night took a tragic turn when another vehicle drove past. The driver apparently recognized Negroni-Feliciano, circled back, and fired upon the vehicle. The gunshots shattered the night's quiet, and Negroni-Feliciano was left with critical injuries.
First responders rushed him to Yale New Haven Hospital, but despite their efforts, he succumbed to his wounds the following day, on New Year's Eve, marking the city's final homicide of the year.
Originally from Hartford, though he had lived in New Haven for most of his life, Negroni-Feliciano was remembered by loved ones as a beautiful person and a devoted father to his two young children. Friends insisted he was not a "street person" and was the kind of man who would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need, putting his kids before anyone else. His sudden and violent death left his family and friends devastated, seeking justice for a life they felt was senselessly cut short.
The New Haven Police Department immediately launched an intensive investigation into the shooting. Detectives utilized a combination of modern technology and traditional police work, including surveillance cameras and license plate readers, to piece together the events of that fatal night. Their efforts quickly led them to a suspect: 37-year-old Miguel Angel Reynoso of New Haven. Investigators revealed that Reynoso and Negroni-Feliciano knew each other, although the specifics of their relationship were not publicly detailed. At the time of the shooting, Reynoso was on probation for a prior assault conviction.
In mid-February 2023, just over a month after the tragic event, police announced that they had arrested Reynoso, charging him with murder and firearms offenses. The arrest brought a sense of relief to Negroni-Feliciano's grieving family, who expressed their gratitude for the detectives' swift action. While the police chief mentioned that there were a couple of potential motives for the shooting, he did not disclose them publicly. Reynoso was subsequently held on a multi-million dollar bond, facing the consequences of the violent act that ended a young father's life.
