A New Haven man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on a murder charge after he pleaded guilty to shooting his girlfriend in the street in front of their 1-year-old daughter in March 2021, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Rashod Newton, 29, was sentenced to 35 years in prison by Judge Gerald Harmon on Thursday, State’s Attorney John Doyle Jr. announced Friday. He pleaded guilty in December to murder in connection to the death of his girlfriend Alessia Mesquita on March 22, 2021 and first-degree assault charges from a separate incident on Jan. 23, 2020.
Mesquita, 30, of New Haven was shot four times outside of a parked car, which had Mesquita and Newton’s 1-year-old daughter inside, near Lenox and Clifton streets in New Haven. The child was uninjured in the shooting.
Investigators found security footage that captured the shooting, according to police at the time. The footage showed Mesquita get out of the car’s passenger seat with several bags and try to open the rear door. The car took off before she could open the door, according to a warrant affidavit in the case.
Mesquita then tried to chase the car and the car stopped. Then Newton got out of the car and fired several shots; Mesquita then fell to the ground. Newton then got in the car and left the scene, leaving her behind, the warrant said.
Newton told police that he shot Mesquita when they spoke to him after he was initially arrested. He told police they were arguing and she wanted to leave the car. He said he did not want her to take the child with her and she was “yelling and causing a scene” so he snapped and shot at her, the warrant said.
When Mesquita was identified and authorities reached out to family members, her mother told police that the relationship between the two was “tumultuous” with a history of domestic incidents, police said at the time.