West Haven man accused in slaying waives probable cause hearing

STAMFORD — A West Haven man, charged with the Stamford shooting death of Queens resident Stephon Walthurst at the end of March, waived his right to a mini trial that would have included testimony from his accusers to determine if city police had enough evidence to arrest him on a murder charge.

Rashad Sellers, 26, appeared in handcuffs before Judge Gary White on Monday morning at the Stamford courthouse alongside his public defender Howard Ehring and waived his hearing in probable cause, which is afforded to every state defendant charged with murder.

The hearing would have allowed a state prosecutor to present its witnesses, who would testify about the evidence gathered against Sellers in order to prove to a judge that the state had probable cause, or reasonable grounds to charge him with murder. In turn at the hearings, which can take days to complete, Ehring would have been able to crossexamine those witnesses in hopes of poking holes in their story. Sellers is being held at the McDougall Walker Correctional Institution in lieu of $1.2 million bond.

But Ehring said, after conferring with Sellers, a decision to waive the hearing was made. Many defense attorneys around the state waive such hearings for their clients because the testimony heard in such circumstances lives on forever even if the witness dies or is unable to be located to testify at a later date.

“We are continuing our own investigation into the allegations against Mr. Sellers. We waived the hearing in probable cause at this point because I don’t think it will be beneficial,” Ehring said. “There are some statements made by residents of the state of New York, who would probably be here for a hearing in probable cause, but might not be here in the future. So I think we all agree that waiving an HPC (hearing in probable cause) is the best way to go.”

At his next court date on June 6, Ehring said he plans to make a not guilty plea to the murder charge on his client’s behalf.

According to Sellers’ 14-page arrest affidavit, Walthrust was found behind the wheel of his 2005 Nissan Altima on Garden Street at 10:45 p.m. March 30, with both driver’s side windows shot out and Walthrust suffering from several bullet wounds. Less than an hour later he was declared dead at Stamford Hospital.

Video camera footage in the area showed the suspect of the shooting getting into an older Acura that had been parked in front of 523 Pacific St. and driving off. Police soon found clear images of the man getting out of the very same car just minutes earlier. Those pictures were sent around and Stamford police got a call from Sellers’ parole officer who identified the man in the images as Sellers.

Police also talked to two friends of Walthrust’s in New York who told them he was going to meet a man named “Sheed” to get some money that he owed Walthrust. At 10:30 p.m. March 30, Walthrust called one of his New York friends and said he did not feel comfortable about the meeting set to take place only minutes away, the affidavit said.

According to court records, the friend told Walthrust to lie to the person and tell him that he was in a different car than what he was driving, because he may have been getting set up by the person who owed him money. Just 15 minutes later Walthrust was fatally shot.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Rashad Sellers, 27, of West Haven, is arraigned for a murder charge at the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford on April 15. Stephon Walthrust, 26, of Queens, N.Y., was shot and killed while sitting in a car on Garden Street near Henry Street in the city’s South End on the night of March 30.