HARTFORD, Conn. — A Hartford man was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison for a 2019 murder in the city.
Joseph Thorpe, 30, of Hartford, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the 2019 murder of Roberto Vargas, 23, in Hartford.
Thorpe was found guilty in July of murder. Prosecutors said in the early morning hours of August 3, 2019, the city’s Shot Spotter system detected gunfire in an area of Farmington Avenue in Hartford. Officers dispatched to the area found the Vargas suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries.
Witnesses led investigators to Thorpe and when questioned by police, he admitted to selling drugs to the victim that night. Evidence presented at trial showed the victim was shot in the back as he ran away from the defendant. The handgun the defendant used was never recovered by police.
According to family members, Vargas graduated from Hartford High and attended the Lincoln Culinary Institute on Sigourney Street. He had two children.
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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