On the evening of August 19, 2020, 24-year-old Sammy Richard Ortiz was killed on a Meriden street corner. Police responded just before 7:45 p.m. to multiple 911 calls and found Ortiz lying in the road at Olive and Crown streets with multiple gunshot wounds and other severe injuries. Paramedics took him to Mid-State Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses described a dark-colored sedan approaching Ortiz, striking him from behind, and then occupants of the car firing before the vehicle sped east on Olive Street. The car reportedly contained at least two males. Meriden detectives investigated for more than a year and a half and identified 25-year-old Justin Coombs as an alleged suspect. Coombs, already in Department of Correction custody on other Meriden charges, was served with a warrant on March 11, 2022, and charged with murder and criminal liability for the acts of another; his bond was set at $1 million.

Ortiz was remembered by family as humble, caring, and outgoing; he graduated from Maloney High School and enjoyed music, reading, and fishing. If anyone witnessed the shooting or has information about the dark-colored sedan, please come forward.