Stamford man faces prison time for threatening witness

STAMFORD — A city man convicted of illegally recording and photographing a key witness’s testimony at a recent murder trial and posting it online in an allegedly “threatening” manner faces up to 30 months in prison following a recent arrest, according to state prosecutors.

Victor Cruz, 26, was arrested on July 14 on charges of second-degree harassment and violation of probation after state police said he was photographing and videotaping segments of the testimony of the state’s key witness, Tyrik Gill, during the murder trial of Sirus Dixon.

He then posted them to social media in the hopes of causing “terror, intimidation, or alarm,” police said.

In October, Cruz accepted a deal offered by state prosecutors and pleaded guilty to violation of probation and second-degree harassment.

In return, he would serve 90 days in prison and be returned to probation following the jail stint.

At the time, however, Judge Kevin Randolph warned him that if he were rearrested prior to his sentencing in January, he would face more time in prison.

On Tuesday, as Cruz appeared for his sentencing hearing, prosecutors learned the 26-year-old Stamford resident had been arrested on a charge of failing to register for the deadly weapon registry.

Cruz, who was on probation for a conviction for criminal possession of a firearm conviction in 2017, is now facing up to 30 months in prison, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Moscati.

During Tuesday’s disposition hearing, Judge John Blawie raised Cruz’s bond to $200,000.

Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced at the state Superior Court in Stamford on March 8.

According to the arrest warrant, state police said Cruz identifies as a member of a group of Stamford residents from the Connecticut Avenue and Myano Lane area that is aligned with the Crips.

Prosecutors claim Dixon is aligned with the same group, which they allege is part of his motive in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Antonio Robinson in May 2018.

In the warrant, state police said Cruz posted photos and videos from inside the courtroom as Gill, the eyewitness to the fatal shooting of Robinson in 2018 and a “critical” witness for the state, testified.

The posts, state police wrote, were accompanied by a caption reading, “Free 8 star witness ty Gil showed out today.” Stamford police say Dixon is known as “8” or “Ocho” by people close to him.

Dixon was later convicted of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 20. He faces up to 40 years in prison.