Stamford teen gets 10 years for stabbing, assaults

STAMFORD — A city teen received the maximum prison sentence of 10 years on Wednesday, months after pleading guilty to felony charges stemming from a 2020 stabbing and a later case where he assaulted five city police officers while trying to evade arrest.

Judge Gary White handed Kristian Alvarez, 19, a 20-year prison sentence that will be suspended after 10 years, followed by five years of probation and a $5,000 fine.

In March, Alvarez pleaded guilty at Stamford Superior Court Wednesday to first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, criminal possession of a firearm and five counts of assault of a public safety officer.

The charges stemmed from two separate incidents: A September 2020 stabbing where a 37-year-old Stamford man was seriously injured in a downtown apartment building, and July 1, 2021, when a gun bust turned armed robbery ended with a failed escape and injuries to multiple police officers.

Seven Stamford police officers, some of whom were seriously injured in the struggle to arrest Alvarez in 2021, watched from the court gallery as he was sentenced Wednesday.

Two of the officers, Sgt. Brendan Phillips and Officer Matthew Linehan, submitted letters asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence on Alvarez for the serious nature of his crimes.

Linehan, who was in a police cruiser that Alvarez rammed during the escape attempt, suffered a traumatic brain injury and may require neck surgery as a result of his injuries.

He wrote that not only did Alvarez’s actions keep him out of the job for five months, force him to step down from his role in the department’s Special Response Team and prevent him from taking an upcoming promotional exam to advance in the department, but it also left him seriously injured only five days before the birth of his second child.

“This accident impacted every sphere of my life,” Linehan wrote in the letter.

In a separate letter, Phillips described Alvarez’s actions as “not a crime of opportunity,” but a “preplanned, violent criminal act orchestrated by an 18-year-old man.

“Not only did he participate in the offense, but he recruited and convinced others that this was a good idea to partake,” Phillips wrote.

Phillips said Alvarez’s actions that day showed a “complete disregard for the health of others.”

Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning also argued for the maximum prison sentence, citing Alvarez’s “significant” history of crime as a juvenile and a “history of noncompliance” with court orders.

Before being sentenced, Alvarez told the court that he thought of his harmful actions every day and that he would accept the consequences for those actions.

“To those officers that I injured, I would like to say I’m very sorry,” Alvarez said. “I didn’t want to injure you guys, I didn’t want to crash the car, I was just scared for my life.”

After the sentencing, Alvarez’s attorney, Wayne Keeney, said that while Alvarez’s actions were “indefensible,” he felt that this client’s apology was sincere.

“This is a young man that has been misguided his whole life,” Keeney said.

Keeney also commended Stamford police for showing “tremendous restraint” in not firing their weapons during Alvarez’s second arrest.

Alvarez was originally charged with first-degree assault, firstdegree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, interfering with police, first-degree threatening, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of an illegal high-capacity magazine, illegal sale of a firearm, possession of weapons in a motor vehicle, assault on a police officer, disobeying the signal of an officer and various motor vehicle violations stemming from the two incidents.

While out after posting bond in connection to his 2020 stabbing arrest, police were told that Alvarez was reportedly attempting to sell guns on the internet.

In response, police organized a controlled purchase of a weapon from Alvarez in July 2021. When police watched Alvarez pull a weapon and put it the head of the person making the purchase, police officers tried to converge on the group. Alvarez then “repeatedly” rammed his vehicle straight into police cruisers, police reports said at the time.

At least five officers suffered injuries including Linehan’s traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a separated shoulder and more, according to court records.

In addition to Alvarez, Jahdiel Rodriguez, 18; Jaylan Jones, 18; and Jackdelys Maldonado, 19, were also charged with firstdegree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny and interfering with police.

The cases against Jones, Rodriguez and Maldonado are still pending before the court. Jones is scheduled to next appear in court on June 29, and Rodriguez and Maldonado are both scheduled to appear on July 13.