Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
Keishawn Donald, a 23-year-old from Bridgeport, was sentenced to 270 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden delivered the sentence in New Haven for Donald's involvement with a violent street gang and the murder of a rival gang member in 2018.
The announcement was made by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Joseph T. Corradino, State’s Attorney for the Fairfield Judicial District; Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter; Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England; and Acting U.S. Marshal Lawrence Bobnick.
According to court documents and evidence presented during a month-long trial, multiple gangs based in Bridgeport have been under investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies due to their involvement in narcotics trafficking and violent acts. Donald was identified as a member of the East End gang which has expanded beyond its original locality.
The East End gang is known to align with other groups like PT Barnum Gang and East Side gang against rivals such as Original North End (O.N.E.) and Greene Homes Boyz (GHB/Hotz). The investigation began following gun violence incidents involving these gangs, including an attack on January 26, 2020, where members shot Myreke Kenion and attempted to kill D’Andre Brown.
Donald participated in distributing illegal drugs and using firearms alongside other criminal activities. On January 30, 2018, he killed Eric Heard from GHB/Hotz gang and later attempted another murder on October 17, 2019.
A jury found Donald guilty on December 5, 2023. He has been detained since his arrest on October 17, 2019. In total, around 47 individuals linked to these gangs have been convicted due to this investigation which also resolved several murder cases.
The case involved collaboration between various law enforcement bodies including FBI’s Safe Streets Task Forces and others under initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
PSN focuses on reducing violent crime through community-based solutions while Project Longevity aims at reducing gun violence specifically in Connecticut cities by engaging with prone groups directly. OCDETF targets dismantling drug traffickers through coordinated efforts among federal and local agencies.
