Fourth man pleads guilty in courthouse gang shooting, feds say
BRIDGEPORT — A fourth gang member pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from the Bridgeport courthouse shooting early last year, according to federal prosecutors.
Asante Gaines, also known as “Santi,” 24, of Bridgeport, is a reputed member of the “Greene Homes Boyz,” or “GHB/ Hotz,” gang that is based in the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex. By pleading guilty, Gaines admitted to participating in drug-related trafficking and also helped plan retaliation shootings of members of rival gangs, according to the office of Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Leonard Boyle.
Gaines pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity and one count of attempted murder and aiding and abetting. U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton scheduled Gaines’ sentencing for Feb. 7, 2022. Gaines faces a maximum prison term of 30 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
In August 2020, a federal grand jury indicted six men, including Gaines, on charges connected with the January 2020 shooting.
Four have pleaded guilty, including GHB/Hotz members Destine Calderon, Diomie Blackwell and Gaines, as well as Original North End member Marquis Isreal. Calderon and Blackwell are scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 28, and Isreal is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3.
Laheem Jones and Tyiese Warren, who are also facing charges in connection with the shooting, have trials scheduled for November, officials said.
On Jan. 27, 2020, Gaines helped other GHB/Hotz and “Original North End” gang members attempt to kill members of a rival gang in a “brazen afternoon shooting” in front of the state courthouse on Golden Hill Street, federal officials said.
A gunshot detection system registered about 20 shots were fired in the area. When investigators arrived, they found four victims had been shot while sitting inside a black Chevrolet Impala. One victim was left paralyzed, and another victim was shot multiple times in the back, shoulder and wrist, according to officials.