In the cold of a late January weekend in 2017, the life of 20-year-old Savion Bostic-Aponte, a Black / African American male, was tragically cut short in Waterbury, Connecticut. His body was discovered on January 29th, lying beneath a tree in the yard of an abandoned home at 133 Chestnut Avenue after a neighbor made the grim discovery. Residents in the area had reported hearing gunshots the night before Bostic-Aponte was found.
The ensuing investigation would reveal a story of betrayal and a robbery that turned fatal.
The investigation into the death of Savion Bostic-Aponte led police to two men: Tijuan "Fly" Gibson and Tysean Snow. Witnesses and evidence pointed to a planned robbery. Authorities learned that earlier on the day of the shooting, January 27, Bostic-Aponte had purchased a red Volkswagen Jetta with cash from a recent paycheck. Investigators determined that he was lured to an abandoned home with the intention of being robbed, but the encounter escalated, and he was shot.
The first arrest came with Tijuan Gibson, 38, who was charged with felony murder. Subsequently, 23-year-old Tysean Snow was also arrested and faced charges of felony murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery. Snow, described as a friend of Bostic-Aponte, later cooperated with prosecutors. He revealed that he had lured the victim to the location where Gibson intended to rob him. Snow stated that Gibson was the one who ultimately shot Bostic-Aponte.
In a deal with prosecutors, Tysean Snow agreed to testify against his co-defendant, Tijuan Gibson. In exchange for his testimony, Snow pleaded guilty to robbery charges and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Gibson stood trial and was convicted of felony murder, robbery in the first degree, and conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree. The jury found him not guilty of the separate charge of murder. For his role in the death of Savion Bostic-Aponte, Tijuan Gibson was sentenced to a total of 55 years in prison.
