Connecticut Shooter Killed Man In Queens Road Rage Dispute: Jury

KEW GARDENS, QUEENS -- A Connecticut man faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty of shooting two brothers - killing one of them - in a burst of road rage in Kew Gardens.

The jury convicted George Cupi, 54, on Thursday for the slaying of a 25-year-old man and the attempted murder of his 31-year-old brother following a two-week trial over a double-parking dispute that turned deadly when Cupi opened fire on the two in Eight Oaks Park, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

“This was a senseless shooting," Brown said. "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."

The deadly shooting, which happened over six years ago on July 14, 2011, started out as a normal day for brothers Roberto and Jovanny Adames, who were driving with Jovanny Adames' wife when they pulled up behind Cupi, whose double-parked white van was blocking their car on Austin Street, according to the charges.

According to the charges, Jovanny Adames honked at the van to move several times before getting out of his car and approaching Cupi. The two got into a heated argument, with Roberto Adames eventually joining in the commotion, until Cupi sped away.

Minutes later, he returned to the scene with a .38 revolver and began raining bullets on the two brothers, who'd moved across the street to sit in Eight Oaks park, according the the charges. Roberto Adames died after being struck three times in the chest. Jovanny Adames survived a bullet to the face that lodged itself in his brain.

Cupi, who fled the scene, managed to evade cops for years after the shooting until an anonymous letter tipped off Connecticut police that he'd committed the 2011 murder in Kew Gardens. He was arrested in December 2015.

Jurors found Cupi guilty of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is set to return to Queens Supreme Court for sentencing on Feb. 5, where he faces a maximum of 50 years to life in prison.

Lead photo via Shutterstock.