Ex-trooper pleads guilty to assault, kidnapping
Xavier Cruz watched as fellow trooper allegedly beat Wethersfield man
A former state trooper who stood by as another trooper allegedly beat a Wethersfield man in 2017 with his police baton faces at least two years in prison after pleading guilty to the kidnapping and assault charges.
It is unclear if Xavier Cruz will testify against Rupert Laird, who could go to trial as early as next month in New Britain Superior Court. Laird was charged with kidnapping and assault after allegedly tying up a man in the basement of Cruz’s home and beating him while Cruz stood by because the man had grabbed Laird’s girlfriend’s buttocks at a party earlier in the night.
Cruz plead guilty in April before Judge Edward J. Mullarkey to cruelty to a person
and unlawful restraint charges that were far less serious than the original ones he faced. Cruz will be sentenced on July 17 and is facing a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of five years in prison.
The plea agreement filed in court doesn’t indicate whether Cruz must testify against Laird.
Laird’s attorney Aaron Romano acknowledged Tuesday he was surprised at Cruz’s plea agreement and said he had no indication on whether he will testify against Laird.
“We believe that if Xavier Cruz cooperates his testimony will do nothing but help us,” Romano said.
Laird’s next court date is June 10 to argue some outstanding motions before going to trial. The case is expected to go to trial sometime this summer.
Cruz and Laird were both hired as troopers in 2012. At the time of the incident Cruz was assigned to Troop K in Colchester and Laird was assigned to Troop C in Tolland. Both men were fired seven months after the incident.
In a nine-page arrest warrant, Wethersfield police describe a brutal beating by Laird on Feb. 18 in the basement of Cruz’s home.
The night started with a group of people drinking at T’s Cafe on Airport Road. The victim knew both Cruz and Laird. At about 3:30 a.m. the party moved to Cruz’s house in Wethersfield.
The victim told police there were about seven people partying in the kitchen when he started flirting with a female and grabbed her buttocks, the warrant says.
The victim left the party, but when he went home his girlfriend wouldn’t let him in the apartment so he texted Cruz to ask if he could return to his house. He told police that as soon as he pulled into Cruz’s driveway, Laird pulled in behind him in a Volvo and blocked him in.
As the two men walked into Cruz’s home, the victim told police, Laird took a black handgun from his pants and pointed it at the victim’s chest and said, “You know I can kill you, right?” Laird then said, according to the police report, “You know what, I’m not even going to do this because I am a cop, but I’ve got connections … if I was going to kill you no one would find the body.”
Laird then asked Cruz to get his police baton and a pair of black boots, the warrant states. They told the victim to take off his glasses. Laird told the victim he was “going to pay” for touching the woman, with whom Laird had a close relationship, the warrant states.
The troopers took the victim into the basement and told him to strip to his underwear, the warrant states, and Laird then head-butted him above the left eye, drawing blood. Laird ordered him to get on his knees and started kicking and punching him, at one point ordering the man to grab a pipe above him so that he couldn’t use his arms to deflect the blows, the warrant states.
Cruz then called the woman and made the victim apologize to her. Laird then asked her to pick a number between one and 10 and, when she said four, he told Cruz that’s how many beatings the victim was going to get, according to the warrant.
Laird punched the victim more than 20 times, kicked him more than 20 times and struck him with a police baton at least 15 times, according to the victim’s statement in the arrest warrant.
Once the beating was over, the warrant states, the troopers handed the victim napkins and a bottle of carpet cleaner and told him to clean up the blood. Laird then told the victim to tell people that he fell while he was drunk and not to tell anyone what had happened, according to the warrant.
Cruz and Laird have both been out on $750,000 bonds since their arrests. They were fired after internal affairs investigations by the state police. The Courant has asked state police for copies of the internal affairs reports and the Freedom of Information Commission ruled in the paper’s favor. The state police have appealed that decision to superior court and the case is still pending.