A Vernon man is facing a murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting in the North End of Hartford in 2017.
Rakeem Grant, 37, was taken into custody Monday by members of the Hartford Police Department’s Violent Crime Unit and United States Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force, according to Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department.
On March 08, 2017, officers were dispatched to 2441 Main St. around 9:16 p.m. after receiving a ShotSpotter activation and 911 calls reporting gunfire, police said. Arriving officers were directed to an apartment building at 45 Alan Green Way, where a man, identified as 26-year-old Stephen Payne of Hartford, was located with multiple gunshot wounds to his torso.
According to police, Payne was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time of his death, police said Payne had an active arrest warrant for violation of probation, which was issued in August 2016, previous reports show.
Payne was convicted for stealing a firearm and carrying a pistol without a permit in Hartford in 2014 and served 16 months, according to Department of Correction.
Following the lengthy investigation the Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions, an arrest warrant was requested and granted in December 2025 charging Grant with one count of murder, Boisvert said.
Grant remains in custody in lieu of a $ 2 million bond.
According to his obituary, Payne was the father of a daughter and a son and was employed at Price Rite in Windsor. He also worked for Staffmark and Labor Ready “where he had ongoing assignments.”
Payne also “had a strong passion for sports, especially football. Stephen enjoyed playing the Saxophone, and was gifted in reading music. Stephen loved to dance so much he earned the nickname ‘Milly Rock,’” his obituary said.