On the evening of May 4, 2021, a Black/African American man named Chaquan Jones, age 33, was with two other men on Norwich Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Around 6:20 p.m., some of the men noticed an argument between a male and a female and one of them called out for the man to stop hitting the woman. The man involved in the dispute, later identified as Joshua Rodriguez, retorted, “You don't want any part of this,” and then made a phone call to another man, Lamont Fields.
Shortly
after the call, Fields and Rodriguez approached Jones and the other two men and opened fire as the three tried to flee. Police were alerted to the gunfire by a ShotSpotter activation and arrived to find three victims. Jones was discovered in a driveway with a severe gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other two victims were also shot; one sustained a wound to his ankle, while the other was shot twice in the back, resulting in paralysis.
Investigators identified two suspects involved in the fatal shooting. In November 2021, police arrested Josh Rodriguez. He was subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree assault. The second suspect, Lamont Fields, was taken into custody in April 2022 and faced charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree assault, and criminal possession of a firearm.
In March 2025, both men were convicted for their roles in the shooting. Lamont Fields was found guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and assault, among other charges. Joshua Rodriguez was convicted on charges including accessory to murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Their sentencing was scheduled for May 2025.
