Bridgeport Man Found Guilty In 2020 Shooting Death Of Stamford Mother: Officials

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A Bridgeport man was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in the 2020 shooting death of a 35-year-old Stamford woman.

A Stamford Superior Court jury additionally found Ian Evans, 33, guilty of first-degree assault and criminal use of a firearm. Evans was found not guilty of murder.

Shernetta Dunmore was at an end-of-summer party in Stamford's Cummings Park when the gathering moved to a parking lot in the Ursula Place housing complex just after midnight on Sept. 20, 2020, Assistant Stamford Police Chief Richard Conklin told Patch Thursday.

"The group was hanging out there when the shooting took place after a disturbance," Conklin said. "The victim, Dunmore, really was not a part of that."

Numerous shots were fired and Dunmore was struck several times, Conklin said. She was taken to Stamford Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

"Everyone described the victim as a selfless, very involved mother, and she really had no enemies. She was a very decent person. We don't believe she was targeted in this," Conklin said. "She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time there."

Two other people were injured by gunfire but later recovered, Conklin said.

Video surveillance near the parking lot captured Evans firing multiple shots in the direction of Dunmore, said Paul J. Ferencek, State’s Attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, in an announcement Thursday.

Conklin said Evans was identified as the shooter and arrested several days later on assault and weapons charges, but it wasn't until April 2021 when he was charged in connection with Dunmore's death.

Evans, who has been in custody since his original arrest, will face sentencing at Stamford Superior Court on Nov. 7.

"This was a difficult case," Conklin said, thanking the teams of patrol officers, investigators, crime scene personnel and prosecutors for their work over the past five years. "We're very happy for a successful prosecution. We've spoken to the victim's family many, many times, and we hope this conviction brings them some bit of closure."