East Hartford man's family rebukes defendants in his killing

Aug. 30—Shortly after Victor Millan of East Hartford was shot to death in an argument over sunglasses on the night of July 4, 2017, his fiancée, Carmen Perez, gave birth to their daughter.

"This monster took away from Victor the opportunity to see his daughter be born shortly after his death," Millan's mother, Carmen I. Arroyo, wrote in a letter read Monday by her sister, Maria Rivera, during the sentencing of Luis Picart, one of three Hartford men convicted of crimes in the shooting.

"A beautiful little girl that will never meet her daddy," Arroyo continued. "How dare you take that away from them? Who gave you that right?"

FATAL SHOOTING

SENTENCED: Pedro Guzman, 31, of Hartford for aiding or encouraging the commission of a first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in the death of Victor Millan, 25, of East Hartford; Luis Picart, 40, of Hartford for attempted first-degree assault in the same incident at Park and Wadsworth streets in Hartford on July 4, 2017.

PUNISHMENT: Guzman got 25 years, suspended after 15 years in prison, followed by five years of probation; Picart got 20 years, suspended after eight years in prison, followed by five years' probation.

Hartford Superior Court Judge Kevin C. Doyle imposed the sentence agreed on when Picart was convicted in a May plea bargain of attempted first-degree assault — eight years in prison, followed by five years' probation, with the possibility of up to 12 more years behind bars if he violates release conditions.

Immediately after sentencing Picart, the judge turned to the sentencing of Pedro Guzman, who had been convicted in his plea bargain of aiding or encouraging the commission of a first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. His sentence, also agreed to in advance, was 15 years in prison followed by five years' probation, with the possibility of up to 10 more years in prison if he violates release conditions.

Prosecutor John F. Fahey explained that a major factor in both plea deals was the jury verdict in the case of William Coleman, a third man implicated in the shooting.

The jury in January 2020 acquitted Coleman of murder and murder conspiracy but convicted him of aiding or encouraging the commission of a first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. Judge James T. Graham sentenced him to 24 years in prison.

The fatal shooting of Millan as he ran from a group of men at the corner of Park and Wadsworth streets in Hartford was captured on high-quality surveillance video, which showed that Coleman, Guzman, and Picart all fired at him.

But the bullet that killed Millan passed through his body and wasn't recovered, making it impossible to determine who fired the fatal shot.

Picart's lawyer, Walter D. Hussey, convinced Fahey that Picart wasn't the killer based on an analysis of the video showing that Picart fired after Millan had already been felled by the bullet that killed him.

That left Coleman and Guzman, and Coleman was closer to Millan, making it more likely that his shot found its mark, the prosecutor explained.

Starting from the outcome of Coleman's case, the prosecutor based his plea bargain offers to the other two on an analysis of each defendant's relative culpability. Coleman ranked first, Guzman second because he might have fired the fatal shot, and Picart third because he couldn't have been the killer.

If Picart's case had gone to trial, Fahey said, he would have pursued a charge of aiding or encouraging a murder based on evidence that Picart handed a gun to Coleman before the shooting. But the prosecutor acknowledged that he would have "struggled" to prove the intent required for that crime.

All that analysis meant little to Millan's family members who spoke. For his sister, Zuleyka Rolon, a key fact is that Picart was the oldest defendant. He is now 40 while Coleman and Guzman are 31.

As an older man, Rolon told Picart, he should have "led by example" and guided the others in the right direction — but instead escalated the situation that caused her only sibling's death.

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