Corey Gomes, 35, was fatally shot outside the Express Fuel gas station on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden on the evening of December 27, 2019. He had gone to the location with his cousin for what was supposed to be a marijuana sale; the arranged buyer instead attempted a robbery. During a struggle the buyer produced a firearm and fired multiple times, striking Gomes. Gomes was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he died of his wounds.

Hamden Police Major Crimes Unit investigators, led by Detective Matthew Barbuto, used social media analysis and text messages between Gomes’ cousin and the suspect to identify 20-year-old Pharoh Jackson of New Haven as the person who arranged the transaction and shot Gomes. Jackson fled the scene in a vehicle with at least one other person and was later located and arrested on January 3, 2020, with assistance from the Bridgeport Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Service Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force. Jackson was charged with felony murder and first-degree robbery and admitted to shooting Gomes during the attempted robbery.

If anyone was at or near the Express Fuel station that night or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please come forward.