Inspector general: Marshal justified for shooting at Bridgeport man on run in New Haven
A U.S. marshal has been found to have been justified when he fired at a fleeing Bridgeport man in New Haven earlier this year who was being sought on numerous serious felony charges.
State Inspector General Robert Devlin ruled Thursday that U.S. Marshal James Masterson did not violate state law when he fired five shots in the direction of Marvin Owens outside a business on Wheeler Street in New Haven on Jan. 13.
Owens was not hit in the shooting and is awaiting trial in Superior Court in Bridgeport on numerous charges, including attempted murder and first-degree sexual assault.
“Masterson fired his weapon at the front tire of the box truck and not at Owens,” Devlin ruled following an investigation by his office. “The (marshal’s) intent was to prevent imminent serious physical injury to other task force officers by disabling the truck. The (marshal) fired his weapon to eliminate the threat to federal and municipal officers endangered by Owens’ efforts to flee the scene to avoid arrest. Accordingly, I find such use of deadly force to be justified under Connecticut law.”
Despite numerous protective orders, Owens is accused both in Bridgeport and Milford of assaulting a woman. He is accused on Jan. 11 of stabbing her repeatedly in the head with a broken bottle and then leaving her unconscious on I-95.
He also has domestic violence charges pending in Stamford involving another woman.
According to the police report, in January U.S. Marshals and Bridgeport police detectives went to Owens’ place of work in New Haven to arrest him on several outstanding warrants for violating a protective order and the alleged assaults.
As they approached Owens, the report states he ran to a box truck and got into the cab. The marshals and detectives surrounded the truck and one of the officers got onto the running board of the truck and ordered Owens to get out, the report states.
Owens locked the truck doors, started the truck and began backing towards one of the detectives, according to the report.
Masterson fired his gun at the front of the truck but did not strike Owens who then drove out of the parking lot at a high speed, the report states.
Police pursued Owens who, despite getting two flat tires when state police deployed a stop strip, drove at a high speed southbound on I-95.
The report states that Owens exited the highway in Bridgeport and crashed into a car and tow truck. He then got out of the truck and was captured following a short foot chase, the report states.
In 2016, just days after Owens was charged with domestic violence, he was arrested after phoning in a threat that he was going to shoot everyone in the Margaret E. Morton Government Center. He was later sentenced to 14 months for the threat and the domestic violence charges.