On a Friday afternoon, shortly before 5 p.m. on July 10, 2020, Ricky Newton, a 36-year-old Black male, entered the Rosette Wine and Liquor store on Rosette Street in his hometown of New Haven, Connecticut. Inside the corner store, a verbal altercation erupted between Newton and another man. The argument escalated dramatically when the other individual, Rashad Hardy, brandished a handgun.
Surveillance footage from the store captured the chilling sequence of events.
After displaying the weapon, Hardy walked out of the liquor store. He then turned and fired multiple shots through the front door from the street. Newton was struck by the gunfire and fell to the ground inside the shop. He was rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, but his injuries were too severe, and he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the New Haven Police Department launched an investigation. Relying on alerts from the city's ShotSpotter system and the crucial surveillance video, detectives identified Rashad Hardy as the suspect. A search for him began, and two weeks later, on July 24, 2020, authorities located him in a group home in Princess Anne, Maryland. He was taken into custody by Maryland State Police during the execution of an unrelated search warrant and was subsequently extradited back to Connecticut to face charges for Newton's death.
The legal proceedings concluded in August 2024, when a jury in New Haven Superior Court found Rashad Hardy guilty of murder and carrying a pistol without a permit. In a separate proceeding, he was also convicted of criminal possession of a firearm. During the sentencing on November 25, 2024, the judge described the killing as an "assassination," noting Hardy's extensive criminal history. Newton's family, including his son who was just 10 years old at the time of the incident, were present in the courtroom. Hardy was sentenced to serve 65 years in prison.
