Photo Courtesy of the Shelton (Conn.) Police Department
George Cupi
By Forum Staff
A road rage incident back in 2011 has resulted in the conviction of a Connecticut man, who shot two brothers, one of them fatally.
George Cupi, 54, of Westside Lane in Shelton, Connecticut will face 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in what Queens DA Brown has called a “senseless shooting.”
“The traffic dispute had ended and the defendant had left the scene, but instead of letting it go, he returned just minutes later to the same street. He shot both men as they sat in a park. The defendant will now face the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison,” said DA Brown.
Cupi was convicted at trial of murder, attempted murder and other charges for shooting two brothers – killing one of them – following a traffic dispute in July 2011 in Kew Gardens.
After a two week trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Schwartz, who presided at trial, set sentencing for February 5, 2018.
It was just about seven months short of seven years that Cupi double-parked his white van with Connecticut plates on Austin around 8 p.m. on July 14, 2011.
A vehicle approached from behind the van with Jovanny Adames and his wife inside. Adames beeped the car horn several times for the van to move so he could pass. When the van did not move, Adames got out of his car and approached Cupi, who was behind the wheel of the van.
An argument ensued and Adames’ brother Roberto heard things getting loud and got out to see what was going on.
All three men argued until Cupi drove away. Minutes later, he returned to the scene of the argument with a .38 caliber revolver and opened fire on the two brothers as they sat in the Eight Oaks Park adjacent to the street where the argument had taken place. Roberto Adames, 25, was shot three times in his chest and died. A bullet hit Jovanny Adames, 31, in the face and lodged in his brain, but he survived the injury. Cupi fled the scene and remained free until an anonymous letter was sent to law enforcement in Connecticut. The letter led police to Cupi, saying he had committed a murder in Kew Gardens in 2011.
