News Coverage

From a distance, the case no doubt looked hopeless. Jonathan Gibbs had confessed to police, signing a statement under oath, telling officers he was alone, that he had fired a pistol at a fleeing man.
The man was found dead between two houses at the very location Gibbs confessed to firing from, a single gunshot to the back of his head, killing him instantly. When Jon’s DNA was found on the gun, it looked like an open-and-shut case of murder.
The stakes are high in such cases....

A 12-member jury found Meriden resident Jonathon Gibbs not guilty Friday of murder and lesser charges in the June 2013 killing of a New Britain teen over the sale of a pair of sneakers.
Gibbs, who had been in prison since his arrest a year ago, was released within 15 minutes of hearing the verdict.
His family cheered and celebrated in the parking lot outside of court after the verdict was read. Attorney Norm Pattis represented Gibbs, and said the verdict was the “right outcome...

A jury Friday found that Jonathan Gibbs did not fire the shot that killed Issaac Smith in New Britain last year.
The not guilty verdict was announced about 12:20 p.m. in Superior Court, said Gibbs' lawyer, Norman Pattis. The jury found him not guilty of murder and of four lesser charges, including criminally negligent homicide, a misdemeanor. Jurors began deliberations late Wednesday.
"The jury acquitted him of all counts, and we walked him out the door a free man," Pattis said. "It...

A Meriden man accused of murdering a New Britain High School student over a pair of sneakers was acquitted of murder by a jury Friday.
Jonathan Gibbs, 27, walked out of court a free man after being in jail for 13 months.
It's a moment that Gibbs won't forget. He walked out of court with his hand raised and smiling ear to ear with his attorneys by his side.
"It's like a dream, I still can't believe I'm here," said Gibbs.
Back in June 2013, Gibbs was accused of...

The Meriden man accused of gunning down a New Britain teen last summer in a case known as "The Tennis Shoe Murder" was acquitted Friday and walked free after 13 months in prison.
Jonathan Gibbs, 27, was arrested in June 2013 and pleaded not guilty in May of this year. He was cleared of murder charges in court Aug. 1.
"It's like a dream," Gibbs said after jurors reached the not-guilty verdict. "I still can't believe I'm here."
Gibbs was tried in the fatal shooting of...

After some spirited sparring between attorney Norm Pattis and the judge, the defense rested its case Monday in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Issaac Smith over a pair of sneakers.
Jonathan Gibbs, 27, of Meriden, is on trial for the murder of the teen who was shot once in the back of the head as he was running off with the pair of sneakers the older man was hoping to sell to him.
Throughout the six-day trial Pattis has repeated his client’s claim that it is his uncle who...

On February 1, photojournalist Pedro Rivera heard about a car accident near his home and went to the scene with his video drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a video camera. He was filming the area from the police perimeter when officers told him to leave. Afterward, the police contacted the TV station where he worked and complained, and Rivera was suspended for a week without pay.
Rivera contacted Norman Pattis, Connecticut trial attorney and author of Juries...

A Hartford man is filing a lawsuit against the Hartford police department and two of its members, claiming they violated his civil rights when officers demanded that he stop flying a drone over a crime scene and detained him, according to court paperwork filed on Tuesday.
The plaintiff in the case, Pedro Rivera, of Hartford, is filing a suit against Lt. Brian Foley, the commander of the major crimes division of the Hartford police department, Sgt. Edward Yergeau and the police department,...

Attorney Norm Pattis shares legal perspective on death penalty decision in Tsarnaev case.

Norm Pattis talks on Aktina FM about the scandal in New Jersey surrounding Governor Chris Christie.