Man pleads guilty in 2016 shooting death of Stamford man

BRIDGEPORT — Laura Slinsky has waited nearly seven years for justice for her murdered son, Shane.

On Friday Shane Slinsky’s former best friend, Jeremy Middleton, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery for luring the 18year-old from Stamford to Bridgeport where he was robbed and shot to death by two other men.

“Shane is looking down from heaven and saying thank you, your honor,” Laura Slinsky shouted to Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo from the back of the courtroom.

Middleton, 22, who also has two pending Stamford robbery cases, is to be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The other two men who are charged in the Aug. 27, 2016, death of Slinsky — Tyreik Gantt and Onaje Smith — are awaiting trial in the case.

In 2019, Gantt, 22, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Smith, 22, to 35 years in prison for a 2017 robbery spree in Stamford.

Laura Slinsky had previously described her son as having a big heart, but she said he was also naive when it came to people who might want to hurt him.

In 2016, Shane Slinsky and his family accepted a $100,000 settlement from the city of Stamford for injuries his family said he suffered from a drug-infused relationship with former Stamford High School English teacher Danielle Watkins.

While the teacher was having a sexual relationship with one of his friends, she was also supplying Slinsky and the friend with marijuana, according to Watkins’ arrest affidavit.

Watkins pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault, threatening and risk of injury to a child and was sentenced to five years in prison.

A few months after getting the settlement money Slinsky was found lying on his back in a pool of blood on Wood Terrace in Bridgeport, an unidentified woman furiously pounding on his chest trying to revive him.

Police said Slinsky had been shot in the head, and he died on arrival at St. Vincent’s Medical Center.

State’s Attorney Joseph Corradino told the judge during the plea hearing on Friday that Middleton drove Slinsky to Wood Terrace so he, Gantt and Smith could rob Slinsky.

Corradino said they believe Smith was the shooter.

Laura Slinsky said she was happy Middleton pleaded guilty to the crime but declined further comment as she left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Laura Slinsky, whose son Shane was murdered in 2016, wipes away a tear as Michele Voigt, with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, hands her an orange rose during an event in 2020. Nearly seven years after Shane was found shot to death in Bridgeport his former best friend has pleaded guilty in connection with the crime.