This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Waterbury police charged Thomas Knight with firing a gun repeatedly on Christmas Day.
Waterbury Police Department
WATERBURY — Police working with a local and state gang task force arrested a city man in connection with shots fired on Christmas Day and seized an illegal loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine, officials said.
Thomas Knight, 50, of Coe Road, fired several shots on Cherry Street on Christmas Day with bystanders nearby, Waterbury Police Lt. Ryan Bessette said. Nobody was struck by gunfire, but police found six spent shell casings, Bessette said.
Officers serving a search warrant went to Knight's home on Jan. 20, took him into custody on the arrest warrant for the shooting, Bessette said.
During the search, members of the Waterbury Gang Task Force Unit, the Connecticut State Police Violent Crimes Task Force and agents with the FBI found a loaded 9 mm handgun and a small quantity of a drugs, Bessette said.
Knight, who is a felon, is prohibited from possessing a firearm, police said. He was charged with nearly a dozen offenses in connection with the shooting, including attempted first-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment and illegal discharge of a firearm.
He was also charged with criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of a pistol, illegal transfer of a pistol, violation of the large capacity magazine requirement and failure to keep drugs in the original container in connection with the search.
Knight was held on a total $1.25 million bond after his arraignment in the Superior Court in Waterbury.
A woman who was in the home, Wilmarie Vidal-Nealy, 30, of East Main Street, was charged with failure to keep prescription in original container and violation of the large capacity magazine requirement. She was released on a promise to appear and is scheduled for a Feb. 7 court date.