In the quiet neighborhood of Newhallville in New Haven, Connecticut, the evening of September 21, 2016, was shattered by the sound of gunfire. Responding to reports of a shooting at approximately 10 p.m., police arrived on Dorman Street to a grim discovery. In the backyard of a home, they found Levern Bellamy, a 31-year-old Black/African American man, suffering from a gunshot wound to his back. A family member had found him and was attempting to render aid.
Paramedics rushed Bellamy to Yale New Haven Hospital, but his injury was too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into Bellamy's death began immediately, with detectives from the New Haven Police Department canvassing the small street that lies between Sherman Parkway and Dixwell Avenue. Initially, the police had no suspect and no description of the shooter. They believed, however, that the perpetrator may have known Bellamy was in the backyard that night. As the investigation progressed, a suspect emerged: Tyrone Spears, a 42-year-old neighbor of Bellamy's who lived on the same street.
More than a year after the fatal shooting, in December 2017, an arrest was made in the case. Tyrone Spears was charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol, and possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. At the time of his arrest for Bellamy's murder, Spears was already incarcerated, serving a sentence for unrelated narcotics charges. The arrest brought a sense of hope for justice to Bellamy's family and the community.
However, the legal proceedings that followed took another turn. In May 2019, after a trial that lasted a week and a half, a jury found Tyrone Spears not guilty of murder and criminal possession of a firearm. The prosecution's case was built on circumstantial evidence, as there were no eyewitnesses and no forensic evidence directly linking Spears to the shooting. The defense attorneys pointed to the possibility of other perpetrators. During the trial, it was revealed that Spears had given police conflicting stories about his whereabouts on the night of the murder. He had also sold a gun belonging to Bellamy just four days after the shooting, though he claimed to have found it. Ultimately, the jury determined that the evidence presented was not sufficient to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
