Two men were arrested and police are hunting for another after a man was shot in the leg in Newport.
Police allege that a Connecticut man was the shooter, and that he and two accomplices tried to enter a home with a gun drawn, then led authorities on a car chase.
The alleged shooter, 26-year-old Jaquan Flintroy of Hartford, Connecticut, is wanted on a charge of second-degree attempted murder, according to Newport police.
The others accused in the incident — Michael Alamo and Wilfredo Cerpa, both 23 and from Hartford — were arrested Monday. Alamo faces a charge of second-degree unlawful restraint; Cerpa is accused of being an accessory to the attempted murder.
The gunshot victim, 44-year-old Donta Flowers Sr., also of Hartford, was taken to University of Vermont Medical Center, where he was in stable condition Tuesday.
City police said the shooting happened Monday at about 11:30 a.m. in the Waterfront Plaza parking lot downtown.
Investigators believe Flowers was shot in the back seat of a white sedan after an argument with one of the other three men.
Police said the car raced away after the shooting, driven by Cerpa and with Alamo in the front passenger seat. Police did not say when or how Flintroy left the car.
Police allege that Cerpa and Alamo, following directions supplied by Flowers, drove to a home to search for his belongings. There, police allege, Alamo flashed a gun and blocked the doorway so that those inside couldn’t leave.
U.S. Border Patrol agents found the sedan driving south on Interstate 91 at about 12:05 p.m., near the Barton exit, according to Newport police.
Police said federal agents, state police and Orleans County Sheriff’s deputies chased the car until it reached in Orleans, and its occupants — Cerpa and Alamo — were arrested. Vermont Fish and Wildlife officers helped in the pursuit.
Cerpa was held for lack of $50,000 bail, and Alamo was held for lack of $25,000 bail. Both were arraigned Tuesday.
All the men involved in the incident knew each other, police said, and the investigation is continuing.
