New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Affidavit details arrest in Uber driver slaying
Body of West Haven man was found at playground
WOODBRIDGE — Fingerprints, tips and technological evidence led Woodbridge police to a man accused of killing a West Haven resident in June, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Rickey Traynham, 26, of New Haven, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, two counts of criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a large-capacity magazine, police said. The affidavit released Thursday was included in his court file.
Previously, on July 1, detectives from the Woodbridge Police Department and the Connecticut
State Police arrested Jorden Rudel,
24, of Derby for his alleged role in the homicide. Rudel is charged with felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery and second
degree larceny.
Woodbridge police Detective Michael Luzzi said in the affidavit for Traynham that officers were called to the Pease Road playground soon after 6 a.m. June 8, finding the body of a man, later identified as Rondell Atkinson of West Haven, and multiple 9 mm shell casings from two different manufacturers.
Atkinson did not have his wallet, cellphone or identifying information on him when he was found, Luzzi wrote on the affidavit. His vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, was not located in the area, police have said.
A family friend of Atkinson told police that they shared the phone tracking app Life 360, the warrant affidavit says. Through the app, Luzzi said Atkinson’s phone was tracked on the evening of June 7 from West Haven to Derby to two locations in New Haven, the affidavit says.
Officers, while tracing Atkinson’s last location tracked by the app, found his vehicle parked at the West Gate Apartments in New Haven on June 11, according to the affidavit.
Among other evidence, police found fingerprints that were identified as belonging to Traynham, Luzzi wrote in the warrant affidavit.
Shortly before the car was found, a person who knew Rudel told police that Rudel had reported to another party that “he and a friend ‘(expletive deleted) up’ and murdered an Uber driver he knew from Derby,” according to warrant affidavit.
Rudel allegedly told the person that he and at least one other individual, after they had been picked up by the driver, traveled to a park in Woodbridge where they attempted to rob the man, the warrant affidavit says. The driver had nothing on him.
“Fearing that the Uber driver could identify Rudel and his friend, they shot him. Rudel told (the person known to him) that he shot the Uber driver two times in the leg. Rudel explained that he was still alive, so the other friend, who had his own gun, shot the driver four additional times and killed him,” Luzzi wrote in the affidavit.
Rudel allegedly showed the other party a driver’s license bearing the last name “Atkinson,” the person who knew him said, according to Luzzi.
Another person allegedly told police that a female friend of a man she knew as “Slikk,” whom police recognized as Traynham, had offered financial aid to help with Rudel’s defense in his case, the warrant affidavit says.
After receiving a warrant signed by the court, police searched Traynham’s home on Fountain Street on July
11. In a vehicle on scene, among other items, police found a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun, an iPhone and iWatch, and a Taurus G2C 9 mm handgun, Luzzi wrote.
Traynham, found at the residence, was arrested at the time and charged with second-degree larceny in connection with the alleged theft of the vehicle.
A friend of Traynham, after being told that Traynham was believed to have been involved in a homicide, “initially denied having any knowledge of the homicide but without any prompting by (detectives) ... asked if the victim was Rondell Atkinson,” the warrant affidavit says.
The friend allegedly told police that Rudel had been calling Traynham daily from jail; each time Traynham received one of the calls, he walked out of the room, the warrant affidavit says. The friend had known that Traynham and Rudel allegedly were together the night of Atkinson’s death; Traynham allegedly had admitted robbing someone with Rudel that evening, according to the warrant affidavit.
Police linked both the iPhone and iWatch allegedly found in the vehicle to Atkinson through the items’ International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers, Luzzi wrote.
Further, through analysis from the the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, police confirmed the shell casings found at the Pease Road playground came from the handgun found at the Fountain Street residence, Luzzi wrote.
Traynham is being held in lieu of a $2 million bail, according to state judicial records. He is next scheduled to appear in court Oct. 19.
Rudel, also held in lieu of a $2 million bail, was set to appear in court Thursday, according to judicial records .
After Atkinson’s death, those who knew him described him as a kind and loving man with a powerful singing voice and deep roots in the church.
The Rev. Boise Kimber of First Cavalary Baptist in New Haven said Atkinson was a praise and worship leader at his church on Sunday mornings for about a year.
“What a heck of a guy, a lovable guy, a Christian young man who exemplified the character of a person you could not help but to love,” Kimber had said.
Sean Hardy, a family friend, has said what he would remember most about Atkinson was his smile.
“That smile brings up a room, and that melodious voice ... ,” he said.