Guilty plea made in murder of city man

By LISA CAPOBIANCO
STAFF WRITER
Joshua Daniels pleaded guilty last week to the murder of Joey Klett, a 19-year-old who died at a house party two years ago.
Daniels, of 24 Conlon St., appeared at New Britain Superior Court last Tuesday when he pleaded guilty to one count of murder, choosing the minimum prison sentence of the charge, 25 years. The 28-year-old will be sentenced on Mar. 18.
State prosecutors also offered Daniels another deal, which involved pleading guilty to first degree burglary and first degree manslaughter—an offer that would have sentenced him behind bars for 28 years, said his attorney Gerald Klein.
“He chose to take the lowest sentence that the State of Connecticut allows for a murder charge with his 25 years,” said Klein.
On Jan. 25, 2014, Joey Klett, a former student of Bristol Central High School, was fatally stabbed at a house party on Irving Street after an altercation with Daniels, who had a knife. According to police, Klett was then brought to Bristol Hospital where he died from his stab wounds. A day after the party, Daniels was arrested after a motor vehicle stop in High Point, North Carolina. Daniels was held there until he was extradited to Connecticut.
Daniels, who did not know Klett before the party, felt he was acting in self-defense at the night of the house party, said Klein.
Klett, who was in the process of joining the military before he passed away, was remembered as a student who could be friends with anyone of any grade and social group at Bristol Central, where he joined the theater program as an independent study.
In 2013, Klett received the Technical Theater Award for his help in building sets for productions.