HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A former Connecticut state trooper has pleaded no contest to kidnapping, assault and cruelty charges in the beating of a man who had a touched his girlfriend at a party.
Prosecutors say 32-year-old Rupert Laird, of Manchester, and another trooper, Xavier Cruz, took the victim, Felipe Figueroa-Garcia, to the basement of Cruz’s Wethersfield home in February 2017 and assaulted him for hours using a police baton, boots and a cheese grater.
Prosecutors say Figueroa-Garcia told investigators he had touched Laird’s girlfriend on the buttocks while flirting with her.
The Hartford Courant reports Laird faces eight years in prison under a plea agreement. Cruz has pleaded guilty as an accessory, and faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 2.
Both men were fired from the state police after the incident.
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