Call for FBI probe
Family of homicide victim wants broader investigation
BRIDGEPORT — Distraught family members of Nyair Charles Nixon and several community activists are pleading for the FBI to take over the investigation of his death outside the Keystone Club last weekend.
“This city is a failure,” said Charles Nixon, Nyair’s father. “If you got kids here, I tell you to get them out of here.”
A crowd of nearly 60 people gathered outside the Keystone on Barnum Avenue early Thursday evening to support the family of Nixon. The 21-year-old died Sunday after being apparently shot inside the Keystone
and then stumbling out only to be struck by a car that fled. No arrest has been made.
The Rev. Stanley Lord, who heads the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, told the crowd he will confer with his state president about demanding the FBI take over the investigation.
The Keystone, a topless bar before being converted into a social club during the pandemic, is managed by Eneida Martinez, a Bridgeport City Council Member.
On Tuesday Martinez said the Keystone is closed and “officially done.”
Maria Pereira, the only Council member to attend the rally, and community activists including Wanda Simmons, Tony Barr and Joseph Grits, questioned how a man with a gun was allowed into the Keystone
and demanded Martinez resign her post while the investigation is ongoing.
“We’re calling on the FBI to take over the investigation because a City Council member is involved,” Simmons said. “We want an in
dependent, fair and transparent investigation.”
Pereira asked, “Where is Eneida Martinez? Where is (Council President) Aidee Nieves? Where is Joe Ganim? Why are they so silent?”
She claimed Nieves and Ganim “need to come out of hiding and tell Eneida Martinez to resign.”
Charles Nixon, the victim’s father, also said he was unhappy.
“No one, I mean no one, that represents Bridgeport came and talked to me,” he said. “Joe Ganim knows me. I didn’t get a phone call. Nothing.”
Calls and an email seeking comment from Martinez were not immediately returned Thursday night. Nor was an email to Rowena White, Ganim’s communications director.
Many in the group expressed frustration with the police investigation so far, claiming social media is filled with what they described as evidence in the case.
Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia during a radio broadcast Wednesday said detectives are making progress and asked that people with information contact the police.
Saida Duberry, who is friends
with Nicole Tate, Nixon’s mother, set up a memorial lit by several bottled candles at the site.
Buck Gonzalez, who cut Nixon’s hair, was also at the gathering Thursday.
“I can’t believe this,” Gonzalez said. “Never in my life would I have thought something like this would happen. He was a wonderful kid. I’m heartbroken.”