Bridgeport Gang Member Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison

Press Release

LUIS GARCIA, also known as "Ebk Lou," 27, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 240 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent Bridgeport street gang.

Today's announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State's Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, murder, and other acts of violence. Garcia was a member of the Original North End ("O.N.E."), a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport that committed acts of violence against rival gangs, including the East End gang, the East Side gang, and the PT Barnum gang. O.N.E. members also robbed drug dealers, customers, and others, sold narcotics, and stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut, often using the cars to commit crimes. They frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.

Text messages and social media posts reviewed during the investigation confirmed that Garcia possessed and sold narcotics and firearms, stole vehicles, and was involved in related violent criminal activity alongside other O.N.E. members and associates.

On August 9, 2018, O.N.E. members stole a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Newburgh, New York, and drove it back to Bridgeport. In the following days, O.N.E. members conspired to use the car to kill East End gang members and their allies who they had learned through social media were at a deli on Stratford Avenue in Bridgeport. Although that plan fell through, in the early morning hours of August 13, 2018, Garcia, Ta'Ron Pharr, and Lorenzo Carter drove the stolen Jeep to Stratford and Union Avenues in Bridgeport where they shot and killed Len Smith, 25, who they mistook for a rival East End group member, and shot and seriously wounded Smith's female companion, both of whom were seated in a parked car. After the shooting, O.N.E. members transported the Jeep to Indian Wells State Park in Shelton where they burned the vehicle in an effort to destroy evidence of the murder.

O.N.E. members committed other violent crimes, including murder.

Garcia has been detained since his arrest on September 8, 2021. On September 6, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.

Approximately 47 members and associates of multiple Bridgeport-based gangs have been convicted of federal offenses stemming from this investigation, which has solved eight murders and approximately 20 attempted murders.

Pharr pleaded guilty and, on August 30, 2022, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment. On November 21, 2023, a jury found Carter guilty of racketeering conspiracy. He awaits sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI's Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Bridgeport Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport State's Attorney's Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, Waterbury Police Department, and Naugatuck Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Peck, Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis, Stephanie T. Levick, and Rahul Kale.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice's Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.

Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut's major cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it. If a group member elects to engage in gun violence, the focused attention of federal, state and local law enforcement will be directed at that entire group.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Updated April 16, 2025