Man Admits Role in Attempted Robbery of New Haven Restaurant Where Employee Was Shot

 Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and Acting New Haven Police Chief Renee Dominguez announced that TYTHRONE FORD, 27, of New Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to a charge stemming from the attempted robbery of a New Haven restaurant, during which an employee was shot, in April 2015.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 11:00 p.m. on April 11, 2015, Ford and two other men entered the Smokin’ Wings restaurant, located on Congress Avenue in New Haven, and demanded money at gunpoint.  One of Ford’s associates subsequently discharged a firearm and shot a female employee in the stomach.  Ford and his associates then fled the restaurant.  Responding New Haven Police officers subsequently located a .22 caliber revolver in a nearby trash can. 

Approximately eight hours prior to the Smokin’ Wings robbery, two of Ford’s associates, armed with handguns, entered Sapiaos Market, located on Lexington Avenue in Bridgeport, and demanded money.  During the attempted robbery, the owner of the market, Jose Salgado, was shot and killed.  At the time, Ford was waiting in a car outside of the market.

Forensic analysis of the revolver found in the trash can in New Haven, and projectiles collected from the scene of both attempted robberies, revealed that the gun was used in both shootings.  DNA collected from the gun revealed that both Ford and one of his associates possessed the gun.

Ford pleaded guilty to one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for December 14, 2021.

Ford has been detained since his arrest on December 10, 2019.

This matter stems from a cold case investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New Haven Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter D. Markle, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, and Nathaniel J. Gentile through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program and Project Longevity,

PSN, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities.  Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it.