On a Saturday afternoon in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the life of a 21-year-old Black man named Jamel Hayden was tragically cut short. It was August 28, 2021, when police responded to reports of a car crash and shots fired on Lincoln Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Arriving at the scene, officers discovered Hayden inside his red Honda CRV, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to St.
Vincent's Medical Center, but he did not survive his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into what initially appeared to be a car accident quickly turned into a homicide case. Detectives learned that the fatal encounter was the result of a planned marijuana deal that had been arranged through the social media app Snapchat. Hayden had advertised cannabis for sale and had arranged to meet a buyer. When he pulled up to the agreed-upon location on Lincoln Avenue, he was met not by a single buyer, but by a group of four teenagers who intended to rob him of the $250 worth of marijuana.
During the robbery attempt, one of the teens, 16-year-old Syshone Joyner, pulled out a gun and shot Hayden. After being shot, Hayden's vehicle accelerated and crashed into several parked cars. The group of teenagers fled the scene on foot through nearby backyards without taking the marijuana. Surveillance video from the area captured the young men clustered around Hayden's car at the time of the shooting and their subsequent escape, providing crucial evidence for the police. In the days that followed, police said Joyner bragged to his friends about the killing, stating, "I popped him."
The investigation led to the arrest of Syshone Joyner, who was charged as an adult with murder, felony murder, and other charges. In April 2024, a jury found Joyner, then 19, guilty of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was acquitted of the more serious murder charges. In June 2024, a judge sentenced him to 34 years in prison. Another individual involved, Edwin Abrams, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree robbery and is awaiting sentencing for his role in the deadly encounter.
