Jury selection to begin Monday in New London murder case
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in New London Superior Court in the case of Keith R. Delvalle, who is charged with fatally shooting Jesus "Gee" Pinero on Aug. 29, 2013 near Connecticut Avenue and Prest Street in New London.
Delvalle, 30, is charged with murder and carrying a pistol without a permit.
He has pleaded not guilty and turned down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a 35-year-prison sentence.
Delvalle has been held in Connecticut prisons since May 2014, when New London police obtained a governor's warrant to retrieve him from Bronx, N.Y., where he had been arrested three months earlier.
Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed will preside over the trial, which is expected to begin on May 31.
State's Attorney Michael L. Regan is prosecuting the case, and defense attorney Corey J. Brinson is representing Delvalle.
According to New London police, Delvalle and Pinero had agreed to meet on the street corner to settle a dispute.
Both had dated the same woman, and they also may have been fighting about money.
They each arrived with a friend, according to police, and spoke for a few minutes before Delvalle allegedly shot Pinero three times at close range with a .25-caliber Beretta pistol.
Pinero's friend, Lance J. Brown, also known as "Mudd," allegedly returned fire with his .40-caliber Glock 23, popping off 10 rounds before he threw it in a nearby dumpster.
Pinero was alive and upright following the shooting, witnesses said, but by the time police arrived, he was lying face down on the street, breathing shallowly and with a blank expression.
He was pronounced dead about two hours later at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.
Brown has pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, first-degree reckless endangerment and illegal discharge of a firearm.
He is free on a $200,000 bond and has been making regular appearances in court.
Police said Delvalle tossed his gun in a grassy area near the scene and left with city resident Lance Goode, who later was charged with first degree hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence.
Goode is free on a $100,000 bond and has been appearing in court regularly.
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