Members of the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force have arrested a suspect in connection with a September 2014 Bridgeport shooting and police said the suspect and victim were acquaintances.
On Tuesday, Bridgeport detectives arrested Maurice Earley, 21, of Seymour, on Somers Street in Bridgeport. He was wanted in connection with the Sept. 23, 2014 shooting of Marlon Smith, 23, of Bridgeport, on Iranistan Avenue, police said.
Detective Todd Toth determined that Earley confronted Smith with a gun in the 600 block of Iranistan, police said. The two struggled over the gun and one shot was fired, hitting Smith in the chest.
Smith managed to get the gun away from Earley, who ran and left behind his bicycle and iPad, police said.
Detectives confirmed that the bullet removed from Smith was fired from the handgun police recovered at the scene, police said.
“This was textbook police work. Detectives followed the evidence and our forensics investigator linked the handgun not to just this shooting but to a second shooting in 2014,” Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. said in a statement. “
Earley was charged with first-degree assault and carrying a pistol without a permit.
