Bad drug deal ends in fatal shooting

West Haven, Connecticut (WTNH) - A fatal shooting over the weekend has shaken up a once quiet West Haven neighborhood. The man charged in the shooting faced a judge on Monday.

Police say it started as an argument Saturday night, and ended in the shooting of 27-year-old Lester McClease.

Vincent Russo has lived in this West Haven neighborhood -- just a few blocks north of the beach -- for 30 years. He cares a lot about where he lives, right down to getting on his hands and knees to repair the curb in front of his house. But news of a drug deal gone bad -- just a few doors down -- is a sign that violence is infiltrating this once tranquil neighborhood.

People in the neighborhood who didn't even see or hear anything are deeply troubled.

"The older I get, the more stuff like that… the more violence I see, I read in the newspaper, see it on television,” said Vincent Russo of West Haven. “I just hope for my grandchildren and offspring that something can get corrected."

People continue to stop at the scene and light candles where McClease was shot late Saturday night.

Monday in Milford Superior Court, 19-year-old Joseph Vreeland was arraigned on second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

The police affidavit says Vreeland went to the West Haven neighborhood to sell McClease marijuana, and that McClease pulled a gun on Vreeland, trying to rob him. The two wrestled over the gun and McClease was hit when it went off.

Peggy Rogers lives just feet away from where it all happened. It’s an example, she says, of how the neighborhood -- in the last ten years -- has changed.

"Drugs, kids getting beat up, young kids getting killed, and it's sad,” Rogers said. “It's really sad and it's very scary to live like this."

The makeshift memorial -- marking West Haven's third homicide of the year -- is not just a symbol of a life lost but also the quality of life.

"Things have changed so much here in this town since I moved away. When I was a kid, we could walk around the streets. We were safe, Frank Aquilante commented. “People were respectful. Kids were respectful to older people, and it seems like the respect is totally gone in this town."

None of the people News 8 talked to is blaming what happened there on any lack of police presence. But some are saying it may be time to start a Neighborhood Watch and start pushing back.