Police: Juvenile suspect threatened to 'blow off' victim's head in Bridgeport murder

As the family of Bridgeport's Jamel Hayden looks for justice in his death, police Wednesday painted a clearer picture of what happened to him.

Mark Sudol

Jul 27, 2022, 9:25 PM

Updated 800 days ago

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As the family of Bridgeport's Jamel Hayden looks for justice in his death, police Wednesday painted a clearer picture of what happened to him.
Edwin Abrams from Stratford is one of the suspects in Hayden’s death. The 18-year-old was back in court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing.
"What we have here is a person who did not shoot or kill anyone. He went out to purchase weed," said Abrams lawyer Darnell Crosland.
Police say video shows Abrams and a juvenile went to buy marijuana from Hayden late last August on Lincoln Avenue in Bridgeport.
Abrams told police in a Sept. 14 interview in video obtained by News 12 Connecticut that the juvenile then pulled out a gun and said "give me everything or I'll blow your head off.”
"My client was so irate and so shocked that this happened that he addressed this individual like, ‘Why did you do that?’" said Crosland.
Police say their ShotSpotter identified a single shot that hit Hayden, who then crashed his car.
"He died at 1:07. They pronounced him dead," Bridgeport Police Lt. Christopher LaMaine told the court.
Abrams was charged with felony murder and attempted first-degree robbery, but Crosland says the state will have to prove his client committed felony murder.
"He never saw the guy with a gun that day. He never saw him with a gun prior to that day so he didn't even know this kid carried a gun," said Crosland.
Police say Hayden had advertised marijuana on Snapchat and agreed to meet the juvenile with Abrams on Aug. 28.
Abrams admitted to distracting Hayden at the time of the shooting while also destroying a phone.
Abrams is being held on $1 million bond.