Man arraigned in Bridgeport drive-by shooting death
BRIDGEPORT — It had been a big moment for Raheem Lynch.
He had just heard back that he had gotten his dream job and was out celebrating with friends.
“My son’s last words to me were that he had gotten the job and was so happy,” said his father, Eon Lynch. “And then he was dead.”
Police said the 24-year-old Lynch was an innocent bystander caught in a drive-by shooting outside a Main Street club last month.
On Wednesday, the alleged shooter, 32-year-old Jaquan “Jiggy” Bryant, already awaiting trial in Derby on gun charges, was arraigned in Superior Court on charges of murder and criminal possession of a firearm.
“How does a man already arrested for having a gun get back on the street where he can kill my son with a gun?” Eon Lynch, his voice cracking with emotion, asked as he stood outside the arraignment courtroom. “The laws have to be changed so that someone arrested for illegally having a gun can’t just get a slap on the wrist and keep killing people.”
During Lynch’s arraignment his lawyer, Robert Berke, attempted to argue for leniency for his client but Judge Tracy Lee Dayton noted Lynch’s pending gun case.
“I’m concerned about the safety of the community,” she said. She ordered Lynch held in lieu of $2.5 million and continued the case to Dec. 14.
“I’m looking forward to arguing the bond at the next court date,” Berke commented as he left the Golden Hill Street courthouse.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, shortly before 2 a.m. on Nov. 6, officers were dispatched to the 2400 block of Main Street for a shooting. On arrival they found four 9mm shell casings in the street in front of Club Mystique.
A short time later police received word that a man had been brought into St. Vincent’s Medical Center suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim, later identified as Raheem Lynch, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Witnesses told detectives that Lynch and several other people had been in the club that evening and had left at closing time, the affidavit states. As they and other patrons were leaving the club a white sedan drove by and someone in the car had fired into the crowd.
Detectives viewed the surveillance video from outside the club and saw a white Honda sedan drive slowly up to the front of the club, the affidavit states. Patrons are then seen running in all directions before the sedan drives off.
The affidavit states that one man observed on the video appeared to be the target of the gunfire but he managed to get to cover. That man later told detectives that he had earlier gotten into a fight with Bryant in the club and that it was Bryant who had done the shooting, the affidavit states.
The affidavit states that Lynch was struck by a bullet as he got into a parked car to drive home.
Detectives later went to Bryant’s place of employment but were told Bryant had abruptly left as police arrived, the affidavit states. They later found the Honda sedan parked in front of Bryant’s home in Waterbury, the affidavit states.
Bryant surrendered to police Tuesday night.
Bryant was arrested by Ansonia police on July 9, 2019 on charges of criminal possession of a pistol, stealing a firearm and possession of narcotics with intent to sell, according to court records. The case is awaiting trial. At the time Bryant was on probation for a drug conviction.