A 20-year-old Connecticut man finds himself facing a heavy criminal possession charge for a firearm

Syncaire Williams Arrested in Bridgeport After Fatal P.T. Barnum Shooting Determined to be Self-Defense

A 20-year-old Connecticut man finds himself facing a heavy criminal possession charge for a firearm he used during a fatal altercation, even as investigators formally determined that the shooting itself was acts of self-defense. Bridgeport police took Syncaire Williams into custody on Sunday afternoon following a warrant execution tied to an August 9 incident.

The sequence of events unfolded around 1 a.m. near Building 21 of the P.T. Barnum public housing complex. Just hours earlier, the community had hosted a resident reunion. Surveillance footage obtained by the State’s Attorney’s Office captured Williams and 46-year-old Johnny Nesmith exchanging gunfire. Nesmith sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was later pronounced dead at Bridgeport Hospital, while Williams emerged uninjured.

Detectives Charge Suspect Following Separate Residential Break-In

Detectives searched for Williams in the weeks following the late-summer shooting. Investigators learned from witnesses that Williams had allegedly beaten and robbed Nesmith inside the housing complex shortly before the deadly encounter, an incident Nesmith never reported to local law enforcement.

Instagram

The legal net closed around Williams shortly after midnight on Sunday during an unrelated investigation. Police stated that Williams and another unidentified individual broke into a residential property on Kent Avenue while occupants were actively inside. That alleged break-in led to fresh charges of home invasion and burglary.

Williams’ bond on the criminal firearm possession charge sits at $750,000. Meanwhile, his bond for the Kent Avenue home invasion case was hiked from $100,000 to $300,000.

The State’s Attorney’s Office ultimately determined the August shooting was self-defense, concluding through video evidence and witness statements that his use of deadly force against Nesmith met the legal standard for self-defense.