Attorney Norm Pattis: 'Killer Will Have to Look Jon in the Eyes'

A Meriden man accused of shooting and killing an 18-year-old New Britain resident earlier this month is not only claiming he’s innocent, but that he knows who the true killer is and will confront him during a probable cause hearing in August.

Defense Attorney Norm Pattis, representing accused killer Jonathan Gibbs of Meriden, said his client was not responsible for shooting Issaac Smith and said a public hearing will allow Gibbs to face the true killer while under oath.

“(Jon) was simply trying to protect the person responsible,” Pattis said.

Smith, 18, a senior at New Britain High School, died on June 16 after New Britain police said he was shot with a handgun at point blank range just before midnight on Sunday on Kelsey Street in New Britain. Gibbs, 26, was arrested the following day at his Pettit Drive home in Meriden.

The New Britain Herald reported that court officials sealed Gibbs' arrest warrant from public view.

Court officials confirmed Wednesday that Gibbs, who is facing one charge of murder, will have a probable cause hearing tentatively scheduled for Aug. 5. He currently remains in the custody of the state in lieu of a $3 million bond, according to court records.

Pattis told the Record-Journal outside his arraignment at New Britain Superior Court that he will put the true killer on the stand during the hearing and force him to look Gibbs in the eye while under oath. He did not indicate who Gibbs is saying is responsible for the murder.

Gibbs has now entered a not guilty plea in the case, court officials said.

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