State will make plea offers to Chew co-defendants
The state will begin extending plea offers to five New London teens accused of taking part in the Oct. 29, 2010, murder of Matthew Chew once the lead defendant has been sentenced.
Idris Elahi pleaded guilty to murder in February and will be sentenced May 23 to 35 years in prison. Elahi turned 19 on April 8.
“Now it’s time for the state and defense to have some serious discussions about the co-defendants,” Judge Patrick J. Clifford said Tuesday when one of the teens, 19-year-old Tyree Bundy, appeared before him in New London Superior Court. Clifford continued Bundy’s case until June 12 and told Bundy he could expect to receive a plea offer that day.
Clifford said the state would meet with the Chew family when they are in town for the Elahi sentencing to discuss a reasonable offer for the others: Bundy, 18-year-old Marquis Singleton, 20-year-old Brian Rabell, 18-year-old Matias Perry, and 19-year-old Rahshad Perry.
Elahi, who had faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted of murder, accepted a plea offer from prosecutor Stephen M. Carney involving a sentence of 35 years in prison, 25 of which are mandatory under state law.
According to previous testimony, Chew, 25 was walking home from work on Huntington Street when the six teens accosted him. Elahi stabbed him repeatedly in the abdomen and gave the knife to one of the others. The weapon was never recovered.
In previous statements, the teens said they were sitting around at Elahi’s house prior to the incident and something they saw on TV got them “hyped,” so they decided to go out and jump a random victim. Rahshad Perry dared Elahi to stab somebody, and the two gave each other “dap,” a type of handshake, according to testimony.
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