Dwayne Saunders, a 52-year-old Black man, was killed in Hartford, Connecticut, during an altercation on June 19, 2021. Friends and family remembered him with affection, leaving tributes with nicknames like “Pop pop,” “Big D,” and “Marvelous” on memorial pages that honored his life.
The violence erupted in the pre-dawn hours of a Saturday morning, reportedly stemming from an argument over money between Saunders and his 35-year-old son, Tyrone Smith.
Just before 4 a.m., Smith and a friend, 33-year-old Gerardo Santiago, went to confront Saunders at his apartment on Alden Street in the city’s South End. According to court records, Smith kicked down the door and began yelling at his father about debts.
The fight that began inside the ransacked apartment soon spilled out into the street as neighbors watched. Witnesses and security cameras captured parts of the deadly confrontation. An injured Saunders was seen stumbling and falling in the street while two men stood over him, shouting. One witness heard an assailant yell about money, while another heard Saunders cry out, “You shot me.” Saunders had been stabbed and shot multiple times. He was rushed to Hartford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead minutes later.
As the assault unfolded in the street, a bystander who saw Smith and Santiago kicking Saunders tried to intervene. The pair then allegedly held the man at gun- and knifepoint, stealing $200 and a watch from him before attempting to flee as police sirens grew louder. Responding officers arrived to find a chaotic scene. They took Smith and Santiago into custody nearby. Smith was seen tossing a .380-caliber handgun into a bush as police detained him.
Both Tyrone Smith and Gerardo Santiago were arrested and charged with murder, first-degree robbery, and first-degree attempted robbery. The two men, who had both sustained wounds during the fight, appeared in Superior Court in Hartford the following Monday. A judge ordered each of them held on a $2 million bond. As of the latest available information in June 2021, the case was proceeding through the court system.
