On a summer afternoon in July 2020, 19-year-old Junny Lara-Velazquez, a male of Puerto Rican descent, was driving his Honda in Hartford, Connecticut, with two passengers. It was July 6th when another car, an Infiniti, pulled up alongside his vehicle. Inside the Infiniti were two brothers, both named Edwin Franqui. An argument had reportedly taken place earlier between Lara-Velazquez and the brothers.
As the two cars drove down Capitol Avenue, multiple shots were fired from the Infiniti into the Honda, striking both Lara-Velazquez and one of his passengers.
Tragically, a bullet struck Junny Lara-Velazquez in the head. After he was shot, his foot became lodged on the accelerator, causing the Honda to continue moving until it crashed into a Subway restaurant in a shopping plaza in West Hartford. Emergency services arrived to find Lara-Velazquez gravely wounded. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Another passenger in the car sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, and the third occupant suffered minor injuries from the crash.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to the Franqui brothers. One of the surviving passengers in Lara-Velazquez's car identified them as the assailants. Police also located another witness who confirmed the brothers' involvement, with one of them reportedly confessing to the murder. Within weeks of the shooting, both brothers were arrested.
In January 2024, a Superior Court jury found both Edwin Franqui brothers guilty in connection with the death of Junny Lara-Velazquez. The older brother, then 32, was convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree assault, and criminal possession of a firearm. The younger brother, then 27, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder, and accessory to first-degree assault.
