State says Norwalk murder suspect’s alibi has no merit
STAMFORD — A criminal defense attorney claims a client accused of slaying a Norwalk man in 2010 couldn’t have committed the crime because he was visiting the hospital at the time of the homicide.
Ibo Boone, a 35-year-old Waterbury man, was arrested in September 2017 and charged with murder in connection to the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Michael “Mizzy” Robinson in the area of South Main and Grove streets on Oct. 29, 2010.
Police claimed at the time of the arrest that Boone allegedly killed Robinson in connection to a back-and-forth wave of violence among rival street gangs in South Norwalk.
But Boone’s attorney, Phillip Russell, claims police nabbed the wrong guy.
Russell said during a remote disposition hearing Monday out of Stamford Superior Court that Boone couldn’t have been the gunman because he was visiting a woman who was giving birth at Norwalk Hospital at the same time Robinson was killed miles away.
Russell said his client, who cooperated with the Norwalk police investigation, and two other witnesses present at Norwalk Hospital that day told police as far back as 2010 that Boone was with them at the time of the homicide. He said those two witnesses are prepared to testify if the case goes to trial.
Russell also claims that he has video evidence from Norwalk Hospital on the day in question which places Boone there at the time of the homicide across town.
Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Cummings disagreed with Russell’s claims, however, saying that the defense team has yet to produce any sworn written statements from witnesses attesting to Boone’s supposed alibi.
“The state does not agree that his alibi has any merit to it,” Cummings said during Monday’s hearing.
Cummings also took aim at the video evidence that Russell says shows Boone at the hospital that evening in 2010, saying that the footage is “so poor” that “you can’t identify anyone in the video.”
The discussion over Boone’s whereabouts on the day of the 2010 homicide was prompted by a motion from Russell to reduce Boone’s $1 million bond.
It was Russell’s third such motion asking for a bond reduction over the past four years of Boone’s incarceration. Last March, Judge Gary White denied a similar motion asking for Boone’s bond to be reduced to $250,000. That denial was made “without prejudice,” which allowed Russell to keep trying.
Russell said Boone’s family is prepared to post up to a $500,000 bond, if the court sees fit to lower the bond.
“We believe that the state’s entitled to some security on this, but it’s unfair to leave the man languishing for four years when he, first of all, could be working; second of all, be assisting in his own defense; and third of all, not be subject to pretrial detention,” Russell said.
Russell claimed the state has cut off all off-the-record pretrial discussions with his team since April 2020.
On Monday, Russell asked White to either order the state to engage in a supervised pretrial hearing to discuss the bond reduction argument in light of new information, or schedule a “proper hearing” where he could call witnesses, police officers and review other evidence related to the case — a suggestion with which Cummings took issue.
“We don’t do mini trials on bond motions to try and take a swipe at the state’s case,” Cummings said.
Cummings said the state is reluctant to continue participating in off-the-record pretrial hearings with the defense because previous efforts have “not been fruitful.”
“It’s been pretty much a waste of time. Counsel is sending the state on one wild goose chase after another, trying to track down witnesses and video that he claims establishes an alibi,” Cummings said.
White is scheduled to decide on the motion for bond reduction on Jan. 18.
Once the decision is made, White suggested the case should be placed on the trial list.