In the spring of 2020, the life of a young Black / African American man, 26-year-old Isaiah Colon of Waterbury, Connecticut, was cut short in a burst of gunfire. On the evening of May 14th, Colon was with a group of people in the vicinity of Willow Street and Woodlawn Terrace when a dark-colored SUV approached. Multiple shots were fired from the vehicle, which then sped away from the scene.
In the chaotic aftermath, it was discovered that Colon had been struck in the torso and a 23-year-old woman had been shot in the leg. Both were rushed to local hospitals in private vehicles. While the woman's injuries were not life-threatening, Colon succumbed to his wound and was pronounced dead at Saint Mary's Hospital at 10:25 p.m.
The Waterbury Police Department launched an immediate and intensive investigation. Their first break came in the early morning hours of the following day when officers spotted a black SUV matching the description of the suspect vehicle. The SUV, which was later confirmed to have been stolen from Groton, fled when police attempted to initiate a traffic stop. The pursuit ended when the SUV crashed head-on into a police cruiser. The three occupants of the vehicle, identified as 19-year-old Jan Santiago, 18-year-old Byron E. Cruz, and a juvenile, were taken into custody.
Further investigation led police to identify 18-year-old Evel Pacheco as the individual who fired the shots from the SUV. Pacheco was located and arrested later that same day during a motor vehicle stop. The driver of that vehicle, 30-year-old Harry Isaac, and another passenger, 39-year-old Camille Cruz, were also arrested on weapons charges. As the investigation continued, police identified and arrested a fifth individual, a 17-year-old juvenile, who was also alleged to have been in the suspect vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Evel Pacheco faced the most severe charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Jan Santiago and Byron E. Cruz, along with the two juveniles, faced a range of charges including conspiracy at murder and weapons-related offenses. The arrests brought a swift, if incomplete, resolution to the violent death of Isaiah Colon, a young father whose life was tragically ended on a spring night in Waterbury.
