Man found guilty of murder in 2020 New Haven store shooting

NEW HAVEN – A jury on Wednesday found a West Haven man guilty of shooting another man at a store in July 2020, court officials said.

Rashad Hardy, 49, was found guilty of murder, carrying a pistol without a license and illegal possession of a firearm, a court official said. Hardy's bail was increased from $2.5 million to $4 million, and his sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 25.

The shooting occurred on July 10, 2020. New Haven Police received a ShotSpotter alert, which alerts police to gunshots, for four shots fired at 4:56 p.m. on Rosette Street in the Hill neighborhood.

At the Rosette Wine and Spirits store, police found that a man named Ricky Newton, 36, had been shot multiple times inside the store, according to Hardy's arrest warrant affidavit.

Newton, of New Haven, was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

During the course of the investigation, police obtained surveillance footage from the store that shows Newton getting out of the back of a black SUV to walk to the store. As Newton entered the store, another man was standing at the entrance when the shooter, identified as Hardy, walked in. The unidentified man appeared to try to reach out to Hardy to shake his hand, but Hardy ignored him and then followed the man into the store, according to Hardy's arrest warrant affidavit.

Inside the store, footage showed a verbal argument between Hardy and Newton. Hardy displayed a gun and repeatedly raised and lowered it in Newton's direction, the arrest warrant states.

The two men continued to argue for more than three minutes when Hardy came outside. An outside camera caught Hardy walking into the street with the gun in his hand. He then turned and walked quickly toward the front door with the gun in his right hand. The unidentified man exited the store and stared at Hardy, according to the warrant.

Hardy then stopped at the door and appeared to fire through the top of the door. He lowered the gun and fired several times, the warrant states.

Hardy could be seen opening the door and walking into the store. Security camera footage showed Newton falling to the ground while Hardy fired shots from outside the door and was apparently hit, police said in the warrant. The unidentified man ran away and the black SUV Newton had entered in fled.

Hardy quickly left the store and walked east on Rosette Street while tucking his gun into his waistband. According to the warrant, he then apparently got into a minivan that drove away.

Two employees who were present during the killing told investigators they heard two people arguing in the front of the store but could not understand what was being said before they heard the gunshots, the warrant said.

According to the search warrant, investigators found four bullet holes in the store's front door, as well as seven cartridge cases and two projectiles.

Two weeks after the murder, police found Hardy in a Maryland dormitory. Authorities executed an unrelated search warrant in Princess Anne, Maryland, and discovered that there was an outstanding warrant for Hardy's arrest.

On Monday, jurors watched Hardy's interview with police on Aug. 15, 2020. While smoking a cigarette in an interrogation room, he spoke with former New Haven police officers David Zaweski and Paul D'Andrea and described how he had been injured in an earlier altercation with Newton. Hardy said he carried a firearm because he was afraid of being hurt.