Violent Bridgeport ONE gang member sentenced to prison

Lina PortmanMay 25, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Jauwan Edwards, 26, of Bridgeport, possessed firearms, sold various drugs and stole vehicles. He was sentenced Friday.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A member of Bridgeport's violent Original North End gang was sentenced Friday in the city to six and a half years in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Jauwan Edwards, 26, of Bridgeport, sold various drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack, Percocet pills and marijuana, prosecutors said, citing an analysis of several publications and text messages on social networks.

Prosecutors said he and another gang member also participated in theft and possession of stolen vehicles, stealing a Lexus Rx350 in Rye, N.Y., that was later used in a homicide. Edwards also owned guns, according to prosecutors.

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The Original North End, or ONE, is a gang located in the Trumbull Gardens neighborhood of Bridgeport that prosecutors say committed acts of violence against rival gangs, robbed drug dealers, johns and others, sold narcotics, stole cars in and out of state, and often used the cars to commit crimes. Prosecutors added that gang members frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.

Prosecutors said that in early December 2019, ONE members were involved in several shootings in Bridgeport. The first time, the mother of two rival gang members was shot dead outside her home in the city.

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On December 8, 2019, ONE members used the stolen Lexus in a shootout outside the PT Barnum housing complex before driving it to Newfield Avenue, the home of a rival gang, where they shot T'Quess, 18 years old. Breezo” Moore, according to prosecutors.

Edwards has been in custody since his arrest on July 27, 2021, during which a search of his home uncovered fentanyl, crack cocaine and cocaine packaged for distribution as well as a loaded Glock handgun with an extended magazine and a laser sight, prosecutors said.

Edwards pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy on June 30, 2023, and is one of approximately 47 local gang members and associates who have been convicted of federal offenses stemming from the investigation, which according to prosecutors, helped solve eight murders and around twenty attempts. murders.

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Prosecutors say Edwards' prison sentence is followed by three years of supervised release. His prosecutions are part of the Department of Justice's programs: Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police, Connecticut State Attorney Bridgeport and several local police departments, including Bridgeport.

Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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