Warrant: Man charged in death of CT father allegedly followed him from kid’s school before shooting
Investigators believe an Arizona man charged in the murder of a Bloomfield father last month followed the victim after he dropped off his children at a local school and approached his vehicle less than a mile away while on foot before firing multiple gunshots at him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The 11-page affidavit supporting the arrest of 29-year-old Devante Swaby in the Dec. 4 killing of 31-year-old Timothy Ross sheds no light on what potential motive could have been behind the slaying.
The warrant was released following Swaby’s arraignment Friday afternoon in Hartford Superior Court where Judge David Gold ordered he be held on a $3 million bond, which can only be posted at the courthouse. Court officials said Swaby has no criminal record and lived in Connecticut for about 25 years before his job as a truck driver put him on the road for the past three years. He has resided in Peoria, Arizona for the past four months, officials said.
State prosecutors during the hearing said investigators believe Swaby may have been following Ross before the fatal shooting, though no indication was given as to whether the men knew each other or had any prior run-ins.
Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants, Swaby did not speak during the proceeding and did not enter a plea to charges of murder, criminal use of a weapon, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of an assault weapon and weapons in a motor vehicle. His arraignment came after he was apprehended in Arizona on Dec. 15 by the U.S. Marshals Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force and extradited to Connecticut this week. The Bloomfield Police Department said they believe Swaby fled to Arizona following the homicide.
A public defender temporarily representing Swaby for the bond hearing said he waived extradition in Arizona and maintains his innocence. He is due back in court on Jan. 25, when Gold said he must decide if he wishes to have a hearing to determine if there is enough probable cause for prosecutors to pursue the murder charge against him. Swaby is entitled to the hearing within 60 days, though the clock on the statutory time limit will not start until Swaby has decided if he wishes to hire a private attorney or use a public defender, Gold ordered.
A group of about a dozen family members and supporters of Ross attended the proceedings. They declined to speak with media members following the hearing.
According to the affidavit, a Bloomfield police officer was investigating an unrelated complaint on Dec. 4 shortly before 9 a.m. at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Cottage Grove Road when the officer was approached by a man, later identified as Ross, who had blood on his face, neck and clothing. The officer initially believed Ross had been involved in a motor vehicle crash before being approached by a man who said he witnessed Ross being shot, the affidavit said.
The witness told police that Ross was stopped in his Toyota Camry in the area of 590 Bloomfield Ave. when a man in a white SUV behind him got out of his vehicle, approached Ross’ vehicle and fired multiple gunshots at him, the warrant affidavit said.
Ross was provided medical attention at the scene before being transported to St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Police at the scene found two shell casings and evidence indicating Ross’ vehicle was struck by gunfire, according to the warrant affidavit.
Dashcam footage from the officer investigating the unrelated complaint as well as other motorists in the area — including a DATTCO bus and van and an anonymous citizen — captured the shooting on film, police wrote in the affidavit. The suspect can be seen manipulating a firearm after approaching Ross’ vehicle on foot. After firing off three rounds, the suspect can be seen walking back to a Hyundai Tucson and leaving the area heading south on Bloomfield Avenue, the affidavit said.
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After learning that Ross had dropped his children off at the CREC Museum Academy just before the shooting, investigators reviewed surveillance footage in the area and found that a Hyundai Tucson matching the vehicle used in the killing was driving in the school’s lot as Ross escorted his children into the building. The vehicle left the lot before Ross and did not appear to be dropping off any children, police wrote.
Minutes after the shooting, nearby video surveillance showed a Tucson drive into the Jewish Community Center entrance just over a mile away from where Ross was killed and continue to the nearby Hebrew Center, according to the affidavit. Video surveillance from the Hebrew Center showed a motorist parking near a dumpster before exiting his vehicle, getting back in and driving away, the affidavit said.
A search of the dumpster turned up an Arby’s bag with food packaging inside, a 9mm Ruger handgun magazine, an empty box of ammunition, a black iPhone and a receipt from a gas station in Secaucus, New Jersey, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators also found a black duffel bag with Swaby’s passport and social security card inside, the warrant affidavit said.
A Hartford Police Department K-9 unit was brought in to help search the area, where the K-9 alerted officers to a black jacket about 200 feet off the road. Investigators also found a 9mm Ruger handgun magazine nearby and, after searching the area further, found a Kel-Tec collapsible rifle in a pile of leaves, according to the affidavit. Though the ammunition in the gun matched the brand of ammo found at the scene, authorities said a ballistics test showed it was not the firearm used in Ross’ killing.
The gun used to kill Ross was found four days after the shooting when several police academy recruits were used to search a wooded area near the Hebrew Center. During the search, a recruit from the Orange Police Department located a 9mm Ruger handgun in a pile of leaves. A ballistics test showed the gun matched the bullets found at the homicide scene, the affidavit said.
Authorities also learned during the investigation that Swaby had purchased both the Ruger and the Kel-Tec gun in Arizona in June 2021, according to the affidavit.
Additionally, investigators discovered that the phone number of the iPhone found in the dumpster near the Hebrew Center was one associated with Swaby, the affidavit said. Several notifications that popped up when police powered up the phone were addressed to “Devante,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities tracking the receipts recovered from the dumpster for both a gas station transaction and an Arby’s food order found that video surveillance from the New Jersey gas station showed the vehicle involved in the transaction, which occurred just before 4:17 a.m. on Dec. 4, was similar to the one used in Ross’ killing, the affidavit said. The suspect never exited the vehicle because New Jersey laws prohibit motorists from pumping their gas, police noted.
The food receipt was dated Dec. 3 and found to have come from an Arby’s at a rest stop in Grantsville, Maryland. Though it did not have a time stamp on it, investigators contacted a manager at the restaurant who was able to use the information on the receipt to retrieve video surveillance of the transaction. The man who purchased the food “struck an extreme resemblance to Devante,” investigators wrote in the affidavit.
