Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles grants 18 pardons, denies several requests after victim input and recent protective orders

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles met Feb. 3 for an absolute-pardon session conducted via Zoom and decided on two dozen pardon applications, granting a majority and denying several after hearing victims’ statements and board discussion.

The board, chaired by Nancy Turner with members Joy Chance and Michael Pohl in attendance, heard applicants in person via video, reviewed prehearing materials and took individual votes on each case. The board’s hearing coordinator reminded applicants that any pardon granted at the hearing is “tentative” until the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification completes record checks and clears their files, a process the board said can take up to about 10 weeks.

Why it matters: Pardons remove or limit collateral consequences of convictions — for employment, licensing and family processes — and the board balanced applicants’ rehabilitation and community contributions against victims’ statements, outstanding protective orders and the seriousness of the original offenses. Victim input and recent court actions changed outcomes in multiple cases during the session.

What the board did: The panel granted full and absolute pardons to 18 applicants and denied or continued others. Most grants were decided after applicants described rehabilitation efforts, steady employment, family roles and community volunteer work. Denials followed either recent court-ordered protective measures or board concern that the seriousness of the offense and victim harm would be improperly reduced by expungement. In several cases a board member explicitly cited recent victim statements or a standing protective order as decisive.

Votes at a glance

(Each entry lists the applicant, the board outcome, the recorded roll-call votes and the board rationale in brief.)

- Sean Doherty — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted long elapsed time since offense and community contributions.

- David Fogle — Denied (motion carried on roll call; chair recorded motion carries). Denial cited injury and impact to the victim and a standing criminal protective order the court imposed that the victim said would remain in effect until 2037.

- Ryan Christopher Masiello — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited lengthy sobriety, employment history and sustained recovery supports.

- Levon Williams — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board emphasized long interval since last conviction and family/employment stability.

- Adrianne Oquendo Rivera — Continued to next available docket (motion to continue approved). Applicant continued at request of counsel.

- Jeremy Michael Ouellette — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Applicant is state employee; board cited conditional-discharge disposition and steady employment.

- Christopher William Vance — Denied (majority). Board cited minimization of responsibility in application and seriousness of offense given the role as a former educator; members concluded expungement would diminish the offense’s seriousness.

- Paul Salvatore DeMauro — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted sustained sobriety and employment, plus completion of restitution.

- Kevin David Hyder — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited sustained sobriety, employment growth and family stability.

- Eric Louis Ortiz — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited lengthy post-conviction stability and employment; applicant completed supervision years earlier.

- Andre Owens — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted long interval since offenses and community involvement.

- Dyshawn Anderson — Denied (majority). Denial followed extensive victim input read into the record and a recent restraining order and ongoing safety concerns described by the victim and Office of Victim Services.

- Terry Smith — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Victim services report indicated the victim in this matter supported a pardon; board found post-conviction stability.

- David Billy — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited long interval without reoffending and family/employment stability.

- Jerome Bruton II — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted completion of required programming and community involvement.

- Robert Crespo Jr. — Granted (majority). Board reviewed violent-assault record from decades earlier; members concluded applicant had sustained clean record, employment and treatment; one member preferred more time but the motion passed by majority.

- Joshua Eason — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited steady employment (CDL driver), community mentoring and family responsibilities.

- Zakiya (Nikia) Felder — Denied (not eligible at this time). The board declined to consider the application with criminal charges pending; applicant was advised to resolve pending matters before reapplying.

- Tracy Kanina Hampton — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted 20-year CNA career and long period off supervision.

- Derek McBroom — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board cited completion of programs and subsequent steady employment with the Board of Education.

- David Patton Jr. — Denied (majority). Board members cited the length and pattern of prior convictions and concerns about minimization of responsibility; the majority concluded expungement would diminish the seriousness of the offenses.

- Scott Michael Raymond — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board weighed retroactive registry consequences, lengthy post-conviction stability, active volunteer work and family circumstances and voted to grant.

- Mario Ribeiro — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted more than a decade without arrest and completion of training and steady employment.

- Brad David Shepherd Jr. — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chair Turner: aye; Chance: nay). One member dissented after listening to victim impact statements describing repeated abusive conduct tied to drug use; the majority granted the pardon citing long-term stability and family responsibilities.

- Travis Lee Singleton — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted stable employment, completion of fatherhood/parenting work and community fundraising; members cited the applicant’s work on parenting and restorative steps since the earlier convictions.

- Marlano (Milano) Smith Sr. — Granted (Pohl: aye; Chance: aye; Chair Turner: aye). Board noted decades-long interval since offenses and sustained sobriety, employment and family supports.

How decisions were made: For several denials the board explicitly cited victim statements, protective orders and recent court activity as decisive. For grants, the board repeatedly cited elapsed time since the offense, steady employment, evidence of rehabilitation (treatment programs, sobriety, community work), family responsibilities and letters from supporters. Several applicants had counsel present and some cases included live victim comment read by the Office of Victim Services.

Notable details and common conditions

- Tentative grants: Board staff repeated that pardons voted at the hearing are tentatively granted and remain subject to record checks and final clearance by the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification; applicants told it may take up to about 10 weeks to erase public records and they should not assert they are cleared until they receive the certificate by mail.

- Victim input and safety: Several denials followed explicit, detailed victim input read into the record, including one victim who described ongoing fear, a new restraining order and post-traumatic stress. Board members said such testimony factored heavily in their votes.

- Continued hearings: One applicant’s case (Adrianne Oquendo Rivera) was continued at the applicant’s request.

What’s next: Applicants who receive tentative pardons will be notified by email and by mailed certificate when record checks are complete; those denied are permitted to reapply after a statutory waiting period where applicable. The board’s decisions were recorded and will be posted to the board’s website per standard practice.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this summary appear in the meeting record. The board’s formal roll-call votes and the procedural language used during the hearing were the official source for each outcome.