On a summer afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut, the life of a 28-year-old Black/African American man, Jorden Williams, was tragically cut short. On July 26, 2017, Williams was in a parking lot on Sumner Street with a female companion when a man was seen peering around a corner. A sense of unease prompted Williams to suggest they leave. As his companion fled, she heard a single gunshot. Williams was discovered with a gunshot wound to the chest and was rushed to St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting led police to identify a suspect, Javon Boderick, a then 35-year-old resident of Hartford. A key witness, the woman who was with Williams, later identified Boderick from a Facebook photograph as the man she saw just before the shooting. Another witness came forward, stating that Boderick had confessed to the killing, citing a previous altercation with Williams while they were both incarcerated. This information provided a motive for the fatal encounter.
After a lengthy investigation, an arrest warrant was issued, and on January 10, 2020, Javon Boderick was taken into custody and charged with murder and criminal possession of a firearm. He was held on a $1.5 million bond. In October 2023, just before his trial was set to begin, Boderick accepted a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. In December 2023, a judge sentenced Boderick to eight years in prison, to be followed by three years of probation.
