Milford shooting at home where cops found drugs, gun came after suspected Cannabis robbery
Milford Police Connect June 13 Shooting to Cannabis Robbery, Charge Two Men.
Surveillance video indicates a June 13 shooting at a Gulf Street home was prompted by an armed robbery of cannabis, according to an arrest warrant affidavit on gun and drug charges for the man living there.
Officers responding to the shooting just after 10:30 p.m. found a total of 138 bags of cannabis totaling roughly 75 pounds, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Milford Police Detective Zachary Milslagle, which noted that "this amount of marijuana and the style in which it is packaged is not intended for personal use."
Cops also found a scale, money-counter, rubber bands, a heat sealer, and, stuffed between two couch cushions in the home, a bloodstained Glock .40 caliber handgun.
Though the gun's serial number had been "obliterated," police found manufacturing numbers from the gun's parts for which a company representative was able to give a serial number, a check of which showed it hadn't been reported lost or stolen.
Police said a man who lives at the home, 22-year-old Sean Cleary, suffered "a graze wound to the head" and was taken to the hospital. During the ambulance ride, the affidavit said he told police a man in a ski mask had shot him, and that he thought the suspect might have kidnapped his roommate in a Mercedes.
When an officer asked if the surveillance camera at the home was functional and, if so, whether he could provide the footage from his phone, Cleary asked for a lawyer, according to the affidavit, which said his DNA was later found on the gun.
After he was treated and released from the hospital, cops charged Cleary with possession of more than one kilogram of cannabis, conspiracy to possess more than one kilogram of cannabis, operating a drug factory, alteration of a firearm identification mark, and illegal possession of a high capacity magazine.
According to court records, Cleary posted a $100,000 bond in the case and is being monitored on GPS, with a 6 p.m. curfew. He is due back in court Aug. 21.
A message seeking comment with his attorney, Michael Denison, was not returned.
According to the affidavit, the Mercedes Cleary described to police was owned by the man he referred to as his roommate, 27-year-old Jacques Schapira. The affidavit said doorbell footage from the home police obtained with a search warrant showed Schapira, who police said gave a West Haven address, unloading large boxes and bags from his car and bringing them into the home, noting that the boxes were "similar and consistent" to the types of boxes police would later find with marijuana inside.
"Some of the cardboard boxes located in the residence still contained the packaged, suspected, marijuana and some of the other boxes were either empty or partially empty," the affidavit stated.
The last video clip depicted two masked gunmen in the driveway — one rummaging through a large cardboard box and pulling out bags of suspected cannabis before loading them into the Mercedes and pulling Schapira out of the driver's seat of the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
"The video does not show when or where a shot was discharged," the affidavit said, noting that the footage appears to show the men robbing Schapira, who was subsequently charged with possession of more than one kilogram of cannabis and conspiracy to possess more than one kilogram of cannabis.
Schapira posted a $100,000 bond and is also due in court Aug. 21. His lawyer, Gregory Cerritelli, declined to comment on the case Friday.
