NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Police gathered at headquarters Monday afternoon to provide an update on the murder of 39-year-old Juan Carlos Colon of East Hartford. Police said his friend and business partner, 47-year-old Charles Brown Jr. of Clinton, has been charged in connection to Colon's death.
Brown Jr. is the one who made the 911 call after police say he shot Colon inside of his business at 207 Forbes Ave in New Haven.
When police arrived, they found Colon in critical condition. He was sent to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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The arrest warrant for Brown Jr. reveals that the two were business partners for two years, working together at an auto shop and tattoo parlor. They bought, fixed, and re-sold cars.
The report said the business was failing. In it, Brown Jr. told police Colon incorrectly filed paperwork with the DMV, and made several deals with customers where the cars were never delivered to them. Brown Jr. told investigators that Colon owed him $40,000. He also told them they had gotten into several arguments, but no physical fights.
Thursday morning is when that changed. Brown Jr. told police they got into a physical fight inside the business, so he went into the other room and grabbed his gun. Brown Jr. told investigators he thought Colon was armed, though he never saw a gun on him. Brown told police after he fired the shots, he immediately "Felt regret" and called 911.
Colon's death now marks New Haven's 10th homicide so far this year. And it follows a recent trend police have been seeing.
"We are, like the rest of the nation, seeing people with, I would call, minor disputes, ending in gunplay where people are killed," said Chief Karl Jacobson with the New Haven Police Department.
"A message to people out there, if you do not have a gun, you're not going to use a gun," said New Haven Mayor, Justin Elicker.
New Haven Police have taken more guns off the streets this year, than in years past. So far this year, Chief Jacobson said they have seized 114 firearms, including 15 ghost guns. Police have also made 85 firearm-related arrests.
This time last year, New Haven PD seized 85 firearms, ten of which were ghost guns. They also made 66 firearm-related arrests.
In the meantime, Colon's family spoke exclusively with FOX61, as they're still trying to process what happened.
"I mean, they weren't enemies. They spoke on the daily, they saw each other every day. So this came as a surprise for sure because regardless of any issues, none of them warranted this outcome, at all," said Alicia Hernandez, Colon's wife.
Hernandez and her husband had two children, a nine-year-old and a one-year-old. She said he was the rock of the family and the provider.
“He was such a happy soul, such a beautiful soul,” Hernandez said.
In the meantime, Brown Jr. is being held on a $2 million bond. He is set to appear back in court next week.
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