Eastern Connecticut |
New London — When word spread of the hit-and-run in Waterford that killed a local man named Kim Weeks last month, many city business owners were unfamiliar with the name.
But when the man they knew only as Kenny, a guy who regularly dropped in to take out the trash or talk sports, stopped showing up, they came to a realization: The two were one and the same. “He was this type of guy where I didn’t know how much I liked him until this happened,” said Rich Harris, owner of Rich’s Auto Body on Truman Street. “I miss his visits, for sure.” It was about 7:33 a.m. Jan. 19 that police responded to the Crystal Mall for the report of an unconscious person there. Upon arrival, they discovered a deceased man lying on the ground between the roadway and the parking lot of the mall at 850 Route 85. Police, who later identified the man as 61-year-old Weeks, said their investigation into the death is continuing. For years, the tall, skinny black man with a sense of style followed a similar routine, according to Daddy Jack’s chef Jack Chaplin. It seemed to Chaplin that Weeks often would start his day with breakfast from the church at 66 Union St. — once First Congregational Church, now Engaging Heaven Church. He’d then saunter over to the auto shop on Truman Street, generally to chat about Yankees baseball, Harris said. After an afternoon slumber, Weeks would hit places like New London Ink, Daddy Jack’s and Exchange Bar and Grill, all located on Bank Street. He had an unspoken agreement of sorts with some of the folks there: If he performed a small task, they’d give him a little money. So he washed windows. Took out trash. Shoveled snow. Swept floors. “People might refer to him as a bum ... but he was far from a bum,” said Johnny Rivero, a tattoo artist at New London Ink. “He would work for what he got.” Read more at www.theday.com/policefirecourts/20170217/man-killed-in-waterford-hit-and-run-was-new-london-character.
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ABOUTA selection of stories I wrote as a breaking news and police reporter for The Day in New London, Conn. Archives
July 2019
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