Hartford Man Charged with Murdering Potential Witness in Federal Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 15, 2013 |
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Hartford Police Chief James C. Rovella today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Hartford returned an indictment yesterday charging Keronn Miller, also known as “Fresh,” 22, with the 2010 murder of Ian Francis of Hartford.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 21, 2010, Ian Francis was shot multiple times while sitting in his vehicle on Sigourney Street in Hartford. Francis succumbed to his injuries on January 15, 2011.
The indictment alleges that Miller and others, known and unknown to the grand jury, murdered Francis with the intent to prevent the attendance of appearance of a person at a federal proceeding and to prevent Francis and another person from communicating with a federal law enforcement officer or judge about the commission or possible commission of a federal crime, namely, narcotics trafficking.
The indictment further alleges that Miller conspired with others, known and unknown to the grand jury, to commit this offense.
The charges of witness tampering murder and conspiracy to commit witness tampering murder carry a mandatory lifetime term of imprisonment or death, should the government seek the death penalty in this matter.
Miller was arrested on a federal arrest warrant on November 7, 2012. He has been detained since his arrest.
This indictment followed a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes and Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division.
U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian P. Leaming.