LaWane Toles, a 43-year-old Black man and New Haven resident, was found dead the evening of May 24, 2017, on Railroad Avenue in Bridgeport near Went Field Park. He had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Toles worked for the New Haven Department of Public Works; his family said he was happy in that job and remembered him as kind-hearted, giving, a gifted singer, and devoted to his family.

Within days investigators developed a suspect. Six days after Toles was found, police stopped a stolen red Hyundai Sonata driven by 24-year-old Deondre Bowden of Norwalk and recovered two of Toles’ credit cards. Bowden initially denied knowing Toles but later said they were friends and that on the day of the killing he had been driving around with Toles and another person when Toles spoke about wages from his new job. Authorities say robbery was the believed motive; Bowden was charged with felony murder, first-degree robbery, and gun offenses. A letter he sent from jail led police, via warrant, to a .44-caliber handgun at a residence.

A jury convicted Deondre Bowden of Toles’ murder in December 2019 and in February 2020 he received a 55-year prison sentence; during sentencing Bowden expressed remorse but maintained he did not fire the fatal shot. Does anyone have information about Toles’ movements in Bridgeport on May 24, 2017, or about the red Hyundai Sonata spotted after the killing?