A 27-year-old man from Meriden has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for manslaughter and firearm charges, officials said.
Brandon Ramons was sentenced to four decades in prison on Oct. 20, after he was previously found guilty of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit on July 29, in New Haven Superior Court.
The sentencing comes after Ramos was previously sentenced to eight years in prison for illegally possessing a loaded firearm back in June 2024, officials said.
According to the evidence introduced at trial, in the early morning of Aug. 22, 2021, Ramos fatally shot Jyineez Cruz, 20, of Meriden. During their investigation, the Meriden Police Department determined that Ramos was hosting a birthday party at his recording studio in downtown Meriden when he engaged in an argument with Cruz in the parking lot outside.
During the argument, Ramos walked to a nearby parked car to retrieve a .45 caliber handgun and returned to the location of the argument and shot Cruz three times. Cruz was pronounced dead on scene. Ramos did not have a permit to carry a pistol at the time of the incident.
An arrest warrant was secured for Ramos in September 2021 and he was extradited from the state of Florida in December of that year, according to officials.
Ramos, who was previously out on bond, also has other charges for allegedly fleeing from police after pulling a gun in a Southington bar and aiming it at the bar staff back in 2023, police said. For that incident, he was charged with first-degree threatening, interfering with an officer, reckless endangerment and engaging in a pursuit in connection with the incident, according to the Southington Police Department.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
