Police arrested a Hartford man suspected of firing gunshots in a park on East Street in May 2013.
Hartford police arrested Steven Echevarria, 28, of Hartford, on Thursday while serving search warrants for an investigation into suspected drug deals from two separate homes on Seyms Street.
Police didn't find any evidence of narcotics while searching the first floor of 51 Seyms St., where they located Echevarria, but arrested the neighbor at 33 Seyms St., Jhllah Govan, 32, after seizing a pound of marijuana and 1.5 ounces of cocaine, police said.
The department's Shooting Task Force identified Echevarria in April as the person suspected of firing two gunshots neighbors heard on May 11, 2013 near 53 Seyms Street.
Police said in a news release that a man tried to fight a group of people "hanging out" in an East Street park in Hartford near the corner of Seyms Street, not far from the addresses where they did the narcotics searches.
Investigators identified the "intended victim," but police are not releasing the identity of the person targeted. There were no injuries in the shooting and the connection between Echevarria and the victim is unknown, police said.
Echevarria was charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm and first-degree reckless endangerment during the narcotics search at 51 Seyms St. Thursday.
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During the narcotics search, police also charged Echevarria with destruction of evidence and interfering with police officers.
Echevarria is a convicted felon who has a violent history, police said.
He was convicted of first-degree assault in 2010 involving the discharge of a firearm in Hartford in 2008, according to the state of Connecticut's judicial website.
He pleaded guilty in the case. Hartford police arrested him in November 2013 on charges of violating the terms of his probation in connection to that case.
He also faces first-degree larceny charges in two Hartford cases from October.
Echevarria's next criminal court appearance for cases unrelated to the most recent arrest is May 22.
His bond is set at $350,000, police said.
Police charged Govan in the separate narcotics case with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, operating a drug factory, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
