A New Haven man allegedly arranged the shooting of his girlfriend, the mother of his three young children, as part of a gang initiation, according to police.
Police said Terquinten Lee Fulton, 30, of New Haven, ordered David Nieman, 24, of New Milford, to shoot the woman at her apartment on County Street in New Haven.
Nieman, a convicted felon, snuck into the home the evening of Jan. 31, chasing and shooting the woman when she showed up and tried to run away, according to police.
The victim called police, afraid the perpetrator was still in her apartment, but when officers arrived, they couldn't find anyone. Police said the woman is the mother of Fulton's three children, all of whom are under the age of 5.
Several days later, Nieman admitted to a date that he had shot a woman in New Haven, police said. His date no longer wanted to see him and called police when Nieman stole some of her money, authorities said.
According to police, officers from New Milford tracked down Nieman and found him and an accomplice attempting a burglary.
After his arrest, Nieman admitted to shooting the woman, but said Fulton had ordered him to do it and given him the gun as part of a gang initiation, police said.
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Detectives grew concerned that Fulton's girlfriend wasn't the only one he wanted to hurt, so they arrested him on Lambert Street early Sunday morning.
Nieman has been charged with first-degree assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, home invasion and conspiracy to commit both first-degree assault and home invasion.
Fulton was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit home invasion.
