Latest news with #straybullet
Associated Press
3 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Connecticut man gets 33 years in prison for stray-bullet killing of Olympian's mother
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Tuesday for the stray-bullet killing of a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete's mother. Jasper Greene, 23, of New Haven, was one of three men charged in the death of Mabel Martinez Antongiorgi on April 9, 2022. The 56-year-old woman was sewing in her home in Waterbury, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Hartford, when a bullet flew through a wall and hit her in the head. Martinez Antongiorgi's daughter, Yarimar Mercado Martinez, competed for the family's native Puerto Rico in rifle shooting at the Olympics in 2016, 2021 and 2024. She was in Brazil for another competition when her mother was killed. Greene pleaded guilty to murder in February. His lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment after Tuesday's sentencing in Waterbury Superior Court. According to court testimony, the fatal shooting stemmed from a dispute that one of the suspects, Franklin Robinson, had with a man who said hello to his girlfriend. Robinson, Greene and another man shot up a car parked on Martinez Antongiorgi's street, thinking the man was inside it. A bullet went into Martinez Antongiorgi's home. Another bystander was wounded but survived. A jury convicted Robinson of murder and other charges in 2023 and he was later sentenced to 90 years in prison. The third suspect, Levi Brock, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in the case, including murder, and awaits trial. At the time of her mother's death, Mercado Martinez lamented in social media posts that she 'couldn't even say goodbye.' 'Why you? Why this way?' she wrote. 'You were just sitting in your little house sewing, as you always did.' Martinez Antongiorgi and her husband of over 30 years, John Luis Mercado, moved to Waterbury from Puerto Rico a few years after the U.S. territory endured 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria. At the time of her death, they had set a date to renew their wedding vows, their daughter wrote at the time.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Stray bullet hits man celebrating his wife's birthday, invoking discussion of Shannon's Law
The Brief Javier Zamarron was struck by a stray bullet while celebrating his wife's birthday in their backyard. He had to have two surgeries to help repair his fibula, which was fractured. The incident could be charged under Shannon's Law, which prosecutes violators with a Class 6 felony and a five-year prison sentence. PHOENIX - A Phoenix family was left in shock after a stray bullet fell from the sky, hitting a man in the leg. It happened near 7th Avenue and Buckeye and now that family says they are still searching for answers. This family was in the backyard of their home, celebrating a birthday when a stray bullet came out of nowhere. They still don't know where it came from and who pulled the trigger. The backstory Javier Zamarron gathered the family together Saturday, to celebrate his wife Itzel's birthday. They had just put the kids to bed, when things took a turn. Zamarron was hit by stray bullet. "I thought I was going to die. And I was just so scared for my life," he said. The stray bullet pierced Javier's leg. "You know, my whole body just went in shock. I just froze," said his wife Itzel. Taking a step forward, Javier fell to the floor. His wife Itzel, remembering the moments, she rushed him to the hospital and waited for him to get out of surgery. "Is he going to come back home? Am I ever going to be able to talk to him again? Like, am I ever going to hear his voice again? I'm sorry," she said as tears began to flow. What used to be their safe space is now forever changed. "I'm still terrified. I feel like right now I'm not safe," said Itzel. "I just feel like just putting you in a bubble so nothing can happen to you." Two surgeries later the Zamarron family learned he had a shattered fibula. "It came out more towards the bottom, and then I broke my fibula," said Javier. What they're saying Officers told Javier they believe the bullet came from random gunfire. "They told me that whatever goes up must come down." Local perspective In 2000, Shannon's Law was established in the state of Arizona after 14-year-old Shannon Smith died in her family's backyard after being hit by a stray bullet fired more than a mile away. Similar offenses are now processed as a Class 6 felony that can be punishable by up to five years in prison. Donations to the Lopez family can be made on a GoFundMe page here.
