East Hartford man convicted of murder in ’08 killing

Shooting followed XL Center concert

An East Hartford man was convicted of murder on Friday in connection with a 2008 fatal shooting following a concert at the XL Center in Hartford, state officials said.

James Dexter Brown, 33, was found guilty by a Hartford Superior Court jury, according to Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin

On June 26, 2008, police responded to a report of a shooting in the area of Main Street and Trumbull Street in Hartford and found the victim, 20-year-old Kenny Sullivan of Hartford, with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Sullivan was transported to Hartford

Hospital where he later died, according to court records.

During an investigation by the Hartford Police Department, the Division of Criminal Justice’s Cold Case Unit and federal authorities, witnesses told investigators there were verbal and physical altercations between two street gangs at a “Hot Jam” concert inside the XL Center before the shooting, court records said.

A large fight between the two groups also took place outside after the concert ended, according to court records, and witnesses said Brown fatally shot Sullivan.

Days after the shooting, Brown was shot 10 times as a result of a feud between members of two street gangs, according to court records.

The shooting left Brown paralyzed from the waist down and blind in one eye.

One witness told detectives that Brown said of the shooting, “that’s how the Gods do” and referred to himself as a God and boasted about shooting Sullivan, the arrest warrant said.

Brown was arrested in connection with Sullivan’s death on Dec. 14, 2018. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16 at Hartford Superior Court, officials said.