Thread: CT- SOB -Hartford Man Faces 5½-Year Prison Sentence

Hartford Man Faces 5½-Year Prison Sentence In 2007 Shooting
By MARK SPENCER and HILDA MUÑOZ
April 10, 2009
When Moises Coutinho shot a man in the neck over a bad debt in the parking lot of a restaurant two years ago, it started a chain of events that continues to reverberate in the city's emerging Brazilian community.

Coutinho, arrested 2½ months after the October 2007 shooting, pleaded no contest to first-degree assault and guilty to carrying a pistol without a permit in Superior Court in Hartford Thursday. As part of the plea agreement he will be sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended after 5½ years and followed by three years' probation.

In the weeks before his arrest, federal immigration agents joined Hartford police in an aggressive hunt for Coutinho, eventually detaining 21 suspected illegal immigrants in their search for someone who would give him up. The raids caused widespread fear in the Brazilian community, which is centered in the Parkville neighborhood. Parents kept children home from school. Some immigrants, wary of getting swept up by authorities, stayed inside, and businesses suffered.

The shooting focused attention on a community that had previously received little attention, despite the cluster of restaurants and other stores on Park Street that signaled an effort to establish a presence in the city.



The initial response by authorities prompted Brazilians and immigration activists to organize and led to demonstrations against what they saw as heavy-handed tactics that punished innocent people.

"Unfortunately, something bad had to happen for people to take notice," said Abigail Amorim, executive director of the Brazilian Alliance.

Council member Luis Cotto, only months in office at the time, eventually introduced an ordinance forbidding Hartford police from inquiring about immigration status during routine investigations. The council in August unanimously approved the measure.

"They arrested countless people who had nothing to do with the incident," Cotto said Thursday.

Amorim said the Brazilian community is rebounding and will continue to grow.

Coutinho could be deported after serving his sentence. Although his immigration status was not clear Thursday, several sources said he was a permanent resident. His sentencing is scheduled for April 30.

According to police, Coutinho had accompanied his girlfriend to collect money that the victim, Elizue Miranda, owed her for a cleaning job. Police said Coutinho watched from across the street as his girlfriend and Miranda met at the Bem Brazil Buffet restaurant on South Whitney Street to discuss payment.

At some point, police believe, Coutinho thought Miranda was flirting with her and crossed the street to confront him.

Police said Coutinho threatened Miranda and forced a gun into his mouth. During a struggle for the gun Miranda was shot in the neck. He was hospitalized, but recovered.

An anonymous tipster recognized Coutinho from an episode of the TV show "America's Most Wanted" and told police the suspect was at a shopping plaza in New London, police said. Coutinho was arrested without incident and confessed to the crime, Roberts said.

He also told police the gun he used in the shooting was buried next to a river in Portland

http://www.newsday.com/topic/hc-brazili ... 1470.story

There needs to be action against Hartford being a Sanctuary City

The initial response by authorities prompted Brazilians and immigration activists to organize and led to demonstrations against what they saw as heavy-handed tactics that punished innocent people.

Sorry, if you're here illegally you ARE NOT innocent. If you are hiding a criminal, you ARE NOT innocent. Police lean on Americans for information everyday, why shouldn't they be able to do the same to others? Once again we are back to "laws only apply to Americans and legal citizens"...

Deport all illegal, unlawful entry or overstay is enough of a crime even if you are parents of an anchor baby. Become a citizen by paying and getting in the back of the line like so many prior legal immigrant citizens.

"NO TO AMNESTY IN AMERICA, NEVER AGAIN AMNESTY IN AMERICA - 1986"