Javier Flores, a 27-year-old father of six from Ansonia, was fatally shot on the evening of July 12, 2021, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Officers found a white Honda sedan on Gregory Street at about 11:30 p.m., its exterior riddled with bullet holes; a woman in the front passenger seat was holding Flores, who had a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Bridgeport Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. His mother later said he was killed on her birthday.

Investigators reviewed nearby surveillance and saw a white Chevrolet approach the Honda, followed by multiple muzzle flashes from the Chevrolet’s driver side before it fled. Detectives traced the Chevrolet to Dewey Street and placed it under surveillance. On July 15, 2021, officers observed 25-year-old Dondre Nesmith enter that vehicle and arrested him. In a recorded interview he confessed to the shooting, saying it was retaliation for an earlier alleged robbery and that he fired multiple shots believing the occupants were armed.

Nesmith was charged with murder and held on $1 million bond. The case devastated Flores’ family and left questions for anyone who knew him or has information about the night of July 12.