New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Warrant: Eatery owner stashed gun for man killed in shooting
WEST HAVEN — When a man brought what police described as an “assault weapon” into a local restaurant and bar, the owner stashed the firearm on a shelf until they left, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Less than 10 minutes later, one of those men, identified as Angel PerezMontanez, was shot in the parking lot and died at the hospital, police said.
West Haven police arrested the owner of the establishment, Juan Reyes, on Friday in connection with handling the firearm. Reyes, who police said was not involved in the shooting, was charged with possession of an assault weapon, illegally altering or removing identification marks on a firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine.
Reyes, 43, was not directly involved in the November 2023 homicide, prosecutors noted during his arraignment Monday.
After announcing Reyes’ arrest, West Haven police said the homicide investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
In the warrant, West Haven police identified the man they believe was responsible for the shooting. He has not been charged in connection with the incident, according to West Haven Police Sgt. Patrick Buturla.
Reyes, the owner of Tropical Caribbean on Campbell Avenue, was arraigned in state Superior Court in Milford before Judge Kevin Russo. More than a dozen of his family and supporters sat in the courtroom.
His lawyer, Paul Carty, said Reyes was a “well-respected businessman” who had his patrons’ safety in mind the night of the homicide.
Carty said a group of men came into the bar, one of whom was armed with a gun. He said Reyes took the gun temporarily while the man was at the business before returning it and telling the person to leave.
“What else is he supposed to do?” Carty said, noting at one point Reyes had been worried the bar would be “sprayed” with bullets. “Any other action would have been dangerous, extremely dangerous.”
“Danger seems to visit that location, Mr. Carty,” Russo said, noting that wasn’t the only incident involving the establishment.
A fatal shooting took place in the area last month. West Haven police arrested Eric Johnson, 32, in the homicide of 44-yearold Hector Dominguez. Police said Dominguez was shot multiple times and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Tropical Caribbean is temporarily closed due to multiple violations with the state Department of Labor, police said Saturday.
In the arraignment Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney Allison Kaas noted that Reyes owned the establishment, and “he did allow people into the bar with the firearm.”
“The allegations are also that he handled it and knowingly allowed it to be present,” she added.
Russo set Reyes’ bond at $100,000 and continued the case to March 26.
The judge also delivered a warning to Reyes after ordering him not to possess weapons if he posts bond.
“If there’s another firearm found at that business, I’ll have him brought in here the next day,” Russo said.
The shooting occurred in the early-morning hours of Nov. 26, 2023. West Haven police were called to the parking lot of the Tropical Caribbean restaurant on Cambell Avenue around 2:10 a.m. for a report of a person shot, according to Reyes’ arrest warrant affidavit.
At the scene, police found Perez-Montanez on the ground and unresponsive. Perez-Montanez was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital where he later died, police said.
Police said they found a black semi-automatic firearm in Perez-Montanez’s possession. The gun, which did not have a serial number, had a detachable magazine with 18 rounds inside, according to the warrant.
A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that, under Connecticut law, the firearm qualified as an “assault weapon,” police wrote in the warrant.
During the investigation, police sought surveillance footage from inside and near the restaurant. Police asked Reyes if they could review his surveillance camera system, but he said his Wi-Fi was down, so he wasn’t able to access this footage, according to the warrant.
Police noted in the warrant Reyes has an “adversarial relationship” with the department “as a result of their routine police presence at or near his establishment at bar closing time, to prevent crimes such as this from occurring.”
Police later obtained warrants to view the surveillance footage. The footage showed Perez-Montanez arrive at the establishment with a friend around 1:15 a.m. The footage showed the two men being searched by a bouncer, the warrant stated. During the search of the friend, it appeared as if he was grasping the left pocket of his jacket, almost holding it away from his body, and the bouncer “clearly avoids the part of the jacket that is being held by the male” patron, police wrote in the warrant.
Perez-Montanez and his friend almost immediately interacted with Reyes, according to police.
In an interview with police, the friend explained Perez-Montanez knew the owner of the bar and Reyes allowed them to keep the firearm in the kitchen while they were inside, the warrant stated.
Just after they entered the bar, the footage showed the friend and Reyes went into the kitchen, the warrant stated. The friend pulled out a firearm, which appeared to be the same one later found on Perez-Montanez, and handed it to Reyes, according to police.
“Reyes then appears to stash it on some sort of a shelf or storage space across the kitchen,” police wrote in the warrant.
Around 2 a.m., Reyes and the friend went back to the kitchen, the warrant stated. Reyes retrieved the firearm, giving it back to the friend who then put the gun in his jacket, the warrant stated. The footage showed Reyes let the friend out into the back parking lot, according to the warrant.
In an interview with police, the friend said Perez-Montanez told him to pick up the firearm and a pickup truck to meet him at the Tropical Caribbean, the warrant stated.
The friend told police he had no idea why they brought the gun into the bar, and said he felt “used by Perez-Montanez to just handle the gun, so that he could ‘show off,’” police wrote in the warrant. The friend said Perez-Montanez “probably just wanted people to see him walking around with the rifle outside.”
After the friend walked outside with the gun, he put it in the pickup truck, but Perez-Montanez took it out, he told police, according to the warrant.
Perez-Montanez then walked around the parking lot, waving the firearm, the friend told police, according to the warrant. He said he saw Perez-Montanez get into an argument with two men, one of whom later shot Perez-Montanez, and tried to calm them down, the warrant said. Perez-Montanez also got into a separate argument with two other men in the parking lot, the friend told police, according to the warrant.
The friend said he was able to get the gun and put it back in the pickup truck, but Perez-Montanez got it out a short time later, the warrant stated.
The friend told police he went up to the man who later shot Perez-Montanez to try to defuse the situation, according to the warrant. The friend said the gun had been put away, and the man should just leave, but he refused, according to the warrant.
After the shooting, footage showed the friend trying to get to Perez-Montanez and the firearm, the warrant stated.
“Due to other people in the parking lot, including the person responsible for the shooting, the male was unable to get near either one,” police said in the warrant.
The friend told police he tried to go to Perez-Montanez to render aid, but the alleged shooter would not let him near and said police were on their way, the warrant stated. The alleged shooter also told the friend that he was a licensed gun carrier, according to the warrant.
The friend was then seen leaving the parking lot in a pickup truck and returning a short time later. Footage showed he pulled up to a black Hummer, which belonged to Perez-Montanez, and appeared to remove items from the Hummer, the warrant stated. The man could be seen getting back into his vehicle and driving north on Campbell Avenue as officers first arrived, the warrant said.