On the morning of July 28, 1990, 32-year-old Joseph Mackanesi, a Stratford truck driver and food salesman, flagged down a patrol car near Soundview and Barnum Avenues after being shot. He told officers that two Black males had attempted to rob him and that he had been shot during the encounter. Mackanesi was taken to a hospital but later died; the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death a gunshot wound.

No arrests have been announced and the two men described by Mackanesi remain unidentified. The Town of Stratford has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and the case is listed as cold. If anyone has information about Joseph Mackanesi, his movements that night, or the men he described, please contact the Stratford authorities.