Five To Be Sentenced Next Week In Murder Of Matthew Chew

Five young men convicted of involvement in the 2010 homicide of a New London man who was walking home from his job will be sentenced next week.

Matthew Chew, 25, was assaulted by a group of six teenagers and fatally stabbed on the evening of Oct. 29, 2010. Chew, a chef at 2 Wives Pizza, died early the next morning at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

According to a police affidavit and court testimonies, the group did not have a motive for the attack and went downtown with the intent of assaulting a random person because they were bored.

The New London Superior Court has scheduled a sentencing for 2 p.m. on each weekday from Monday to Friday. The court grouped the sentencings into one week so that Chew's parents, who live in California, do not have to make multiple trips to attend the court dates.

Idris Elahi, 19, entered an Alford plea to murder on Feb. 22, 2012. Elahi, who was accused of stabbing Chew, is serving a 35-year prison sentence following his sentencing on May 23.

The remaining five defendants all pleaded to first-degree manslaughter. The sentencings will take place on the following schedule:

• Rashad Perry, 19, will be sentenced on Monday. Perry entered a plea on Dec. 10 and accepted an offer by the state to serve 20 years, suspended after 15 years, with five years of probation.
• Brian Rabell, 21, will be sentenced on Tuesday. Rabell entered a plea on Dec. 12 and accepted a state offer to serve 16 years in prison, suspended after eight years, with five years of probation.
• Tyree Bundy, 20, will be sentenced on Wednesday. Bundy entered a plea on Dec. 19 and accepted a state offer to serve 16 years in prison, suspended after eight years, with five years of probation.
• Matias Perry, 19, will be sentenced on Thursday. Perry (no relation to Rashad) entered a plea on Nov. 29 and accepted a state offer to serve 20 years, suspended after 15 years, with five years of probation.
• Marquis Singleton, 19, will be sentenced on Friday. Singleton briefly considered going to trial, but entered a plea on Dec. 27 and accepted a state offer to serve 16 years in prison, suspended after eight years, with five years of probation.

All five defendants were intially charged with accessory to murder, and Singleton was also charged with murder. Judge Susan B. Handy formerly said she may reject the plea deals depending on the defendants' conduct prior to sentencing as well as the findings of a pre-sentencing report.