Man arrested in Vermont with gun, drugs extradited to Connecticut to face assault charge in Hartford shooting

A Hartford man in custody in Vermont was extradited back to Connecticut and charged with assault by the Hartford Police Department this week in connection with a 2022 shooting that left a man in critical condition.

Alexander Marcano, 31, faces one count of first-degree assault in connection with a shooting on Dec. 6, 2022, on Clifford Street.

According to the arrest warrant, Marcano was driving a Jeep Wrangler when he approached the 42-year-old victim as he was walking his dog in the area of Maple and Clifford streets and began speaking to him. The victim told police he recognized the man from an interaction two to three years prior, when he believes he slapped the younger brother of the suspected shooter, the warrant said.

According to the warrant, Marcano allegedly began shooting at the man, who then tried to flee. The victim told police he stopped once he heard the gunshots cease, only to see that he was still being followed by Marcano, who allegedly began firing more shots at him, the document states.

The victim was able to make it into a nearby convenience store and asked someone to call 911. He then flagged down a passing motorist and was taken to Hartford Hospital.

The man suffered 11 gunshot wounds to various parts of his body and was listed in critical condition following the shooting. Detectives were able to speak to him five days later when he regained consciousness.

During the investigation, Hartford detectives were also able to speak to a friend of the victim, who told them the 42-year-old called just prior to the shooting because he was concerned about being followed by someone driving a Jeep, according to the warrant. The call suddenly dropped and the victim did not answer his phone when the friend repeatedly tried to call him back.

Hartford detectives were able to track down the owner of the Jeep believed to be used in the shooting, finding that the man had rented his vehicle using a carsharing app. Police said they found that Marcano rented the vehicle at the time of the shooting, the warrant said.

Marcano was arrested by federal border patrol agents in the early morning hours of Jan. 30 in North Troy, Vermont, after a remote sensor was tripped about half a mile away from the Canadian border. The 31-year-old was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by border patrol agents, which led authorities to discover he was wanted in connection with the Hartford shooting.

Federal court documents indicate Marcano was found with 179 grams of a cocaine/methamphetamine mixture, 4 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and cocaine, 59 grams of cocaine, a loaded Cobra pistol and just under $23,000. He was taken into custody on federal charges of knowing and intentional possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute them and carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Marcano has been held in custody on a $1 million bond since his arrest in Vermont. He was extradited to Connecticut and charged in the Hartford shooting this week. He is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on March 30.