CT man allegedly killed girlfriend, shot 2 others, held on $3M

A man who is charged with killing his girlfriend over the weekend also seriously injured her mother and brother when he allegedly opened fire in their New Britain home after an argument about a misplaced pair of shoes, records show.

Antoine Harris was arraigned Tuesday at Superior Court in New Britain, where Judge Maureen M. Keegan increased his bond to $3 million as he awaits his next court date on charges of murder, two counts of first-degree assault, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver and criminal use of a weapon.

Harris, 44, of New Britain, allegedly shot his girlfriend, Sabrina Finch, to death on the night of Dec. 30, records show. Finch’s daughter, Kali Thaxton, of Litchfield, said the two had been dating on and off for about 10 years.

During that time, their relationship was fraught with issues, she said.

She said tearfully outside the courthouse on Tuesday, “She was terrified of him.”

Thaxton sat in the front row of the courtroom as Harris, dressed in sweatpants and a crewneck sweatshirt, was led in to face the judge Tuesday after the New Year’s holiday weekend. She burst into tears and shouted “murderer” as she walked out after he was arraigned.

On the other side of the courtroom, more than a dozen of Harris’ family and friends wept and blew kisses to a handcuffed Harris. Court marshals made one of his supporters leave the courtroom and scolded others for trying to talk to him. They declined to comment on the case.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Devant Joiner asked Keegan to increase Harris’ bond from $1.8 million, which she ruled in favor of. She also required Harris to post 75% of that bond, in cash at the courthouse, in order to be released with electronic monitoring.

The judge issued full protective orders for the two people who survived the shooting, identifying them only by the initials M and J.

Thaxton told the Courant that her grandmother had been released from the hospital and was on the mend. Her uncle, she said, had been paralyzed before the shooting. He was shot in the back and was still in a hospital in critical condition. Thaxton had not yet been able to visit him, she said.

Thaxton said that her mother had been the primary caretaker for him for years, after he had been released from a nursing home.

“She had a beautiful soul, she just had the biggest heart. She would take care of anyone,” said Thaxton, who was wearing a shirt that said “Justice for Sabrina”.

According to a warrant for Harris’ arrest obtained by the Courant Tuesday, police responded to Finch’s home just after 11 p.m. and found a woman standing outside bleeding. She had been shot in her right leg and told police she jumped out of the window to escape the home after she was shot.

She also told police that Antoine Harris had shot her, her son and her daughter.

Officers found Finch lying on her bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to her upper abdomen and she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the warrant affidavit.

Her brother was found laying in his hospital bed in their home with a gunshot wound to his lower back. He told police that his sister and Harris had been arguing over “random things” over the past week and had been arguing over laundry earlier that night, according to the warrant affidavit.

Finch’s mother told police that her daughter and Harris were “arguing about some shoes that he couldn’t find,” according to the warrant affidavit. Just before the shooting, Harris allegedly was accusing Finch of stealing his shoes, records show.

“He shot them all over an [expletive] pair of shoes,” said Thaxton,  who is the oldest of Finch’s four children. Finch’s youngest child is 17, according to her daughter.

Finch was born and raised in New Britain and had been dating Harris since 2014, her daughter said.

The situation had been escalating, she said.

“He’s been tormenting them for months,” Thaxton said.

Harris’ defense attorney noted in court that Harris has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and “possible other mental health diagnoses.” He was previously employed as a cook, his attorney said, but was not currently employed.

He is scheduled to appear in court next on Jan. 16.