BRIDGEPORT, CT – Luis Garcia, 25, of Bridgeport, admitted in federal court yesterday to participating in a brutal racketeering conspiracy tied to the Original North End (O.N.E.) gang. The guilty plea lays bare a pattern of violence, drug dealing, and calculated crime that terrorized the city’s Trumbull Gardens neighborhood for years.
According to court documents, Garcia and fellow O.N.E. members engaged in a relentless feud with rival gangs – the East End, East Side, and PT Barnum gangs – fueling a cycle of shootings and retribution. The gang didn’t limit itself to turf wars; they routinely robbed drug dealers, pilfered vehicles from across state lines, and used the stolen cars as tools in their criminal enterprise.
The investigation, a joint effort by the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals, and Bridgeport Police, revealed a chilling plot surrounding a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee. In August 2018, O.N.E. members snatched the vehicle from Newburgh, New York, intending to use it in a hit on members of the East End gang. While that initial plan failed, the stolen Jeep became the vehicle for a deadly ambush. On August 13, 2018, O.N.E. members opened fire on a car, mistakenly believing the occupants were rival gang members. Len Smith, 25, was killed, and his female companion was critically wounded.
Following the shooting, Garcia and his associates attempted to cover their tracks by driving the Jeep to Indian Wells State Park in Shelton and setting it ablaze. The burned wreckage was a desperate attempt to erase evidence of the murder, but investigators meticulously pieced together the events through surveillance, text messages, and social media posts that implicated Garcia and others.
Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. He has been held without bail since his arrest on September 8, 2021, and awaits sentencing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, led by Vanessa Roberts Avery, is prosecuting the case with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Rahul Kale, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, and Tara E. Levens.
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s broader efforts to combat violent crime through initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity, and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). While Garcia is behind bars, the investigation remains ongoing, and authorities suggest other O.N.E. members could face charges for their alleged involvement in further violent crimes, including additional murders.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Organized Crime|Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
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