On the evening of July 15, 2011, 23-year-old Keith Wallace Washington Jr., a male resident of Windsor, Connecticut, was on the front porch of a home at 67 Oakland Terrace in Hartford. At approximately 9:28 p.m., gunfire erupted, and Washington was struck in the head. Hartford police responded to reports of the shooting and found him unconscious. He was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries two days later, on July 17, 2011.
Keith, born in Hartford on January 19,
1988, was a natural athlete who had a passion for football, having played since he was a child. He attended Windsor High School before transferring to Weaver High School, from which he graduated in 2006. He went on to continue his education at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. Those who knew him remembered an easy-going and lovable man with a magnetic personality who enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that Keith Washington Jr. was an innocent victim in a conflict that did not involve him. The man responsible for his death was Arthur "Wiggs" Stanley, a member of the Westhell street gang. Stanley's intended target was a rival gang member who was on the porch talking with Washington. When Stanley fired, he missed his intended victim and tragically shot Washington instead.
After a lengthy investigation involving the FBI's Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department, Arthur Stanley was indicted on October 27, 2015, for the murder. In December 2016, a federal jury found Stanley guilty of engaging in a violent crime in aid of racketeering. On March 14, 2017, he was sentenced to life in prison for the senseless killing of Keith Washington Jr.
