CT Post - 1/6/08

Bridgeport homicide cases fall in 2007
Daniel Tepfer

BRIDGEPORT - The city finished 2007 with one of its lowest homicide rates in years.

With 13 homicides, the city ties New Haven, which also had 13, while Hartford recorded 29.

Police Chief Bryan Norwood attributed the fewer homicides to "the hard work of the men and women of the Police Department and their concerted efforts." There were 30 homicides in the city during 2006, up from 21 the preceding year.

But of those 13 homicides last year, Bridgeport police so far have filed charges in connection with the deaths of four victims. New Haven police have solved four of their cases, while Hartford police claim a rate of about 60 percent solving their cases.

"Homicide investigations are very intricate and history shows it takes a year or even more to solve them," said Lt. James Viadero, the spokesman for Bridgeport police. "In a number of homicides, we have collected forensic evidence, but often it takes up to six months to get results from the state lab."

For example, Viadero said, two city brothers, Azibo and Azikiwe Aquart, were only recently indicted by the U.S. attorney in connection with the Aug. 24, 2005, triple murder in a Charles Street apartment house where the brothers allegedly ran a drug-trafficking ring. Found bludgeoned to death in that incident, with their faces wrapped in duct tape, were Tina Johnson, 42; her boyfriend James Reid, 40, and family friend Basil Williams, 54.

"It was a very lengthy investigation and a lot of evidence from that scene had to be sent to the lab to be analyzed," Viadero said.

Another highly publicized case that took five years to solve was that of Zoltan Kiss, a Canadian visiting the city who was shot more than 15 times on Pembroke Street in September 2001. Police said Kiss was visiting his girlfriend in Bridgeport and had gone out to buy the drug ecstasy when he was slain in an apparent robbery.

But it was not until the fall of 2006 that three people were charged in the slaying, after witnesses finally came forward. The break in the case came in the wake of determined efforts by police investigators and Kiss' mother to find evidence in the long-unsolved homicide.

The three people convicted for their roles in killing Kiss were all convicted at separate trials last year. Miguel Zapata, 22, was sentenced to 60 years in prison; Orema Taft, 31, got a 45-year jail term, and Louisa Bermudez, 35, was given a 13-year prison sentence.

Viadero said that homicide cases typically are much more complex than others and take more time to solve.

"The public readily accepts what they see on TV, something we call the 'CSI Effect.' People think that within an hour of the homicide we can get lab results and put the case together. But in reality it often takes six months or more."

In 2007, Viadero said, police also made four arrests in homicides that occurred in 2006 and earlier.

"One of the difficulties we deal with in solving cases is the public's reluctance to come forward and cooperate with police, especially youth," he said. "This isn't just a Bridgeport problem, but a problem nationwide. Many youth who witness crimes are reluctant to come forward because they are afraid of being viewed as snitches and that impacts on our investigations."

Robert Keppel, a professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, said in the 1960s the homicide-solution rate nationwide was about 60 percent, but it has dropped off over the years.

"Cases have become harder and witnesses being reluctant to talk to police are just making it take longer to solve cases," he said. He agreed that forensic labs taking time to process evidence could delay cases, but he noted that labs process evidence quickly in cases where there is a known suspect.

"Most of the time, it's not physical evidence that solves a case, it's shoe leather. You just have to get out and pound the pavement looking for witnesses," he added.

A city man has been charged in the case involving the city's first three homicides of 2007, based on witness accounts and other evidence gathered by police detectives.

Bashkim Emini, 36, and his wife Lumnije Dermaku, 31, were fatally shot in their Fairfield Avenue apartment Jan. 8 along with 37-year-old Mehrdad Moussavian, of Trumbull, the owner of a gas station at State Street and Park Avenue.

Kadir Babiso, 46, who worked at the gas station, was arrested at the same day at his home after witnesses told police he had argued with Moussavian earlier in the day. Babiso is charged with capital felony, three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of first-degree reckless endangerment. If convicted of capital felony, he could get the death penalty.

Following is a chronology of the 13 homicides that took place in Bridgeport last year:

Mehrdad Moussavian, Lumnije Dermaku and Bashkim Emini were shot to death Jan. 8 in Dermaku and Emini's Fairfield Avenue apartment. Kadir Babiso is awaiting trial in the case.

• Jan. 20, William Donald, 36, found shot to death on Miles Street.
• Jan. 21, Leroy Brown, 32, fatally shot on Fifth Street.
• March 13, Nelita Nacif, 82, died of stab wounds in her Beers Street home. Her husband, Jose Alves, is awaiting trial for the crime.
• April 26, Juan Mercado found dead from gun shots in the Greene Homes public housing complex.
• Aug. 17, Maurice Allen, 21, fatally shot in his Central Avenue apartment.
• Sept. 6, Edgardo Difre, 19, shot and killed outside a Glendale Avenue condo complex.
• Oct. 7, Miguel Vazquez, 49, shot fatally in an Ogden Street apartment.
• Oct. 8, Rontisha Carroll shot to death on Carroll Avenue.
• Oct. 28, Thomas Jefferson, 40, found shot to death behind a house on Beatrice Street.
• Dec. 22, Moh'd Al-Sadouni, shot and killed during a robbery at the Palisades Market. Anyone with information about any of these cases is asked to call the Bridgeport Police Department's Detective Bureau at 581-5201.

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