A man was arraigned Friday in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend.
Carlton “CJ” Bryan of Hartford, who is alleged to have ordered the shooting of Shamari Jenkins, appeared in Hartford Superior Court before Judge Joan Alexander, who set bail at $2.5 million.
Calling the crime “egregious,” prosecutor Cathryn J. Krinitsky told the judge that Bryan asked a friend to shoot his girlfriend because “the girlfriend has previously decided to have an abortion but decided not to.”
Admitted trigger man Matthew Allen Hall-Davis of Vernon says he intended to shoot Bryan, not Jenkins, when he fired his 44 magnum through the rear windshield of Jenkins’ Honda Accord near the intersection of Magnolia and Mather streets in Hartford on April 29.
Bryan has no prior convictions, but does have a case pending, which includes a charge of possessing a pistol without a permit. The state requested bail be set at $3 million.
“I call the court’s attention to paragraph 24 of the warrant, which indicates that this defendant begged another party to shoot and kill his pregnant girlfriend,” said Krinitsky, senior assistant state’s attorney.