W. Haven man charged in Stamford slaying
STAMFORD — Less than two weeks after a New York man was shot on Garden Street, police have charged a West Haven man with his murder.
A large contingent of Stamford and Norwalk police officers, accompanied by SWAT officers at the ready, apprehended Rashad Sellers, 27, of West Haven, while inside a deli on East Avenue in just south of Exit 16 in Norwalk at 6: 25 a. m. Friday.
Stamford police Capt. Richard Conklin said Sellers, who has past gun convictions, was held in lieu of $ 1 million bail.
About three- dozen officers participated in the takedown at Mike’s Deli on East Avenue after surreptitiously following Sellers on his morning drive to work over the past few days. Conklin said that figuring Sellers was going to make his usual stop on Friday morning, more than a score of officers were waiting and watched him get out of his older, silver Acura and walk in.
Undercover narcotics officers were on his heels and “got their hands on him before he even noticed him,” Conklin said. Sellers was taken into custody without incident.
Sgt. Paul Guzda said he was proud of the work his squad did to get a warrant charging Sellers with the murder of Stephon Walthrust, 26, of Queens, N.Y. Walthrust was shot and killed while sitting in a car on Garden Street near Henry Street in the city’s South End the night of March 30. His was the first homicide of the year in Stamford.
Walthrust’s family said his life was beginning to turn around. “This was a great team effort in the squad and there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction when an investigation like this comes together. “I’m proud to be part of this team” Guzda said.
Efforts to reach Walthrust’s family in Queens were unsuccessful.
Conklin said police would not discuss the alleged motive for the killing or the alleged evidence pointing to Sellers’ guilt. Sources say the dispute was over money.
Conklin thanked the Norwalk police for the generous commitment of their officers to Friday morning’s operation. He also thanked the Stamford State’s Attorneys Office for its assistance in developing an arrest warrant for Sellers on the murder charge.
Officers who took on the investigation in the Stamford Major Crimes Unit were dedicated to the case and got right to work on it as soon as it came in, Conkin said.
Conklin said additional searches of places where Sellers frequented in Bridgeport and West Haven were being done on Friday. He said the Acura Sellers was driving will also be searched for evidence.