Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Stabbing In Meriden: Officials

MERIDEN, CT — A Meriden man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal stabbing in the city in 2023, according to officials.

Josue Ortega-Torres, 20, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court to one count of murder, John P. Doyle Jr., State’s Attorney for the New Haven Judicial District, announced in a news release.

The guilty plea stems from the killing of 44-year-old Justin Sloan Sr. of Meriden on July 8, 2023. On that date, Meriden police responding to a call about a stabbing on Hanover Drive found Sloan suffering from multiple stab wounds. He was later pronounced dead.

Authorities said an investigation found that a vehicle, driven by Ortega-Torres, was seen before the incident following a vehicle driven by the victim.

The vehicles were captured on nearby surveillance cameras and showed that Ortega-Torres followed the victim as he drove toward his home in Meriden, according to officials.

“When the victim arrived at his home, Ortega-Torres confronted him as he exited his vehicle, stabbed the victim several times and then left the scene,” officials wrote in the news release. “Witnesses said they observed two individuals standing outside a vehicle. When one individual fell to the ground bleeding, the other individual entered a vehicle and fled.

“Ortega-Torres returned home where he concealed his vehicle and the clothing he was wearing. Surveillance cameras identified him, as well as his car, clothing, and other evidence recovered from his home. The investigation led police to a home in Meriden where officers were met with an hours-long standoff by Ortega-Torres who refused to leave his home and challenged ‘the legality of the investigation and the presence of officers,’ before he surrendered to Meriden police.”

Doyle thanked the Meriden Police Department for “their investigation of this case as well as emergency medical personnel from the Meriden Fire Department and Hunters Ambulance who responded to the scene,” according to the news release. “Police, fire and EMS personnel rendered extraordinary efforts at the scene to save the life of the victim, who unfortunately succumbed to his injuries at MidState Medical Center. The New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office offers condolences to the family and friends of the victim.”

Ortega-Torres will be sentenced to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 8, according to officials.