Man convicted of reduced charge in EHartford rape case

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Dec. 26—A man whose ex-girlfriend accused him of raping her in the rear parking lot of an East Hartford car wash has accepted a plea bargain and been convicted of a lesser felony in that case, along with a street robbery and two drug crimes in Manchester.

Gabre J. Thompson, 39, who has listed a Hartford address, received a total sentence of 2 1/2 years in prison, followed by three years of probation, with the possibility of up to 7 1/2 more years behind bars if he violates release conditions, court and state Department of Correction records show.

RAPE, ROBBERY CASES

DEFENDANT: Gabre J. Thompson, 39, who has listed a Hartford address

CONVICTIONS: First-degree unlawful restraint, third-degree robbery, conspiracy to sell a narcotic, evidence tampering, interfering with police, possession of a drug with the intent to sell it, first-degree failure to appear in court

SENTENCE: 10 years, suspended after 2 1/2 years in prison, followed by three years of probation

He was convicted of first-degree unlawful restraint in the East Hartford incident, which occurred on July 29, 2020, Hartford Superior Court records show.

He was also convicted of third-degree robbery based on a woman's accusation that he took $20 from her on Main Street in Manchester eight days earlier by threatening to "smack" her, according to the records.

In addition, he was convicted of two drug crimes, committed in Manchester in January and April 2020, evidence tampering and interfering with police in one of those cases, and failing to appear in court in the other.

Thompson entered all his pleas under the Alford Doctrine, meaning that he didn't admit guilt but acknowledged that there was enough evidence for a conviction at trial.

In the robbery case, the woman reported that a man and a woman followed her as she walked home from a convenience store on Main Street in Manchester around 6 a.m. on July 21, 2020.

The woman said she stopped and said, "Hello" to the man and he replied, "Don't talk to me you cop caller. Give me your $20. I should smack you," Manchester police Officer Ryan Karabetsos reported.

The man then grabbed her wrist with one hand and pulled the wallet out of her hand with the other, she told police. She said he then took $20 from the wallet and threw the wallet across a parking lot.

The woman knew the robber only as "L.G.," but police identified him as Thompson from that nickname and a phone number the woman gave for him, which matched Thompson's number in Manchester police records, the officer reported.

The woman vacillated repeatedly as to whether she wanted to press charges, but she ultimately identified Thompson as the robber from a photo lineup, the officer reported.

In the East Hartford case, Thompson's ex-girlfriend told police she was walking to the Krauszer's food store on Main Street when a sport utility vehicle pulled up. Thompson, riding in the back seat, told her to get in, saying he had a bottle of alcohol for her, Officer Andre Lyew reported in an affidavit.

The woman said she got in and Thompson put his head in her lap, holding her in the seat. But in the Krauszer's lot, she said, Thompson told her to get out and walk.

She said she walked across a side street to the rear parking lot of a car wash, where Thompson came up behind her, pulled her to the ground, and raped her.

The woman declined medical attention, saying she was uninjured, the officer reported.

In a subsequent telephone conversation, Thompson said the woman got in his car while drunk, got in an argument with him, scratched his face, and left the area, the officer reported. But he reported no success in getting Thompson to come to the police station and give a sworn statement.

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