On Jan 22 Police Commissioner John Mueller announced that investigators with the Yonkers Police Detective Division Major Case Squad, in collaboration with prosecutors from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, members of the City of Hartford, Connecticut Police Department, and FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and Northern Connecticut Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, effected the arrest of a Hartford resident yesterday evening in connection with a fatal shooting on Fairview Street last Sunday.
Claismar ABREU-THEN, a 27-year-old resident of Franklin Avenue in Hartford, was placed into custody last night without incident by members of the Yonkers Police, Hartford Police, and FBI Northern Connecticut Violent Crime and Gang Task Force. ABREU-THEN’s arrest is the result of an on-going multi-agency investigation into the murder of 24-year-old Joseph PICHARDO, who was shot multiple times in the first-floor hallway of 54 Fairview Street on January 17th.
Yonkers Police Detectives assigned to the case developed information through subject interviews and by reviewing hours of surveillance video that established the identity of the suspected perpetrator; and working together with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, obtained a warrant for his arrest.
The investigation then progressed to the City of Hartford in partnership with the Hartford Police Department and the Hartford State’s Attorney Office with assistance from both the Westchester and Connecticut FBI task forces. Investigators believe that ABREU-THEN and PICHARDO were known to each other, and that the shooting was the fatal culmination of an on-going dispute between the two men. It is alleged that ABREU-THEN approached PICHARDO in the Fairview Street hallway and shot him multiple times before fleeing the location. Subsequent to ABREU-THEN’s arrest, police in Hartford recovered an illegal 9mm handgun and a quantity of alleged fentanyl pills.
Police Commissioner John J. Mueller stated, “The City of Yonkers is committed to utilizing every resource to apprehend those responsible for perpetrating violence in our communities, especially gun violence and heinous acts such as this. The tenacious efforts put forward by our police officers, detectives, prosecutors, and every agency involved is testament to law enforcement’s dedication to keeping our communities safe; this suspect was placed under arrest out-of-state within a week – I applaud all those involved in delivering him into the Criminal Justice System.”
Westchester DA Miriam E. Rocah said, “Thanks to the incredible work of the Yonkers Police Department, the FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force and the prosecutors in our office as well as assistance from the Hartford State’s Attorney Office and Hartford Police Department, the Westchester community can breathe a sigh of relief that someone has been arrested and charged swiftly with this brazen murder. We will work to ensure that justice is done for the victim and his loved ones.”
ABREU-THEN was charged locally in Hartford with weapons and drug crimes, and is awaiting extradition to Westchester County to answer his warrant of arrest on the charge of Murder 2, a Class A-I Violent Felony in the New York State Penal Law. The case is being prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
The City of Yonkers and Yonkers Police Department offers its sincere condolences to PICHARDO’s family and friends.
