Kenneth Cooper, 35, was shot and killed in New Haven in the early morning of January 12, 2018. Cooper, a Black male formerly of New Haven and recently living in Waterbury, had stopped with a female companion at the Tiger Mart on Whalley Avenue to buy a ginger ale. As he was getting back into his vehicle a man approached and spoke to him and then gunfire erupted; the ShotSpotter system recorded shots around 3:08 a.m. in the area of Whalley Avenue and Fitch Street. Mortally wounded, Cooper urged his companion to run; she drove him toward the hospital but he died en route.The next day police identified and arrested 31-year-old Joshua James Council near his residence.

Council, who was on parole as a convicted felon, was charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol without a permit, and violation of probation. Prosecutors said the motive was retaliation for Cooper’s cooperation with police; the woman with Cooper that night testified that Council was the shooter. A jury found Joshua Council guilty of murder and criminal possession of a firearm in March 2020.

Did anyone who knew Kenneth remember him from New Haven or Waterbury and have details about his life that could add context to this case?