A Bridgeport man was sentenced to more than 40 years for his involvement in a violent street gang, officials said.
Joshua Gilbert, 24, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Kari Dooley in Bridgeport to 40 years in prison and three years of supervised release for his involvement in a violent Bridgeport street gang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
According to court records, the FBI, ATF, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police Department have been investigating multiple Bridgeport-based gangs whose members are involved in narcotics trafficking, homicide and other acts of violence. Gilbert was a member of the Original North End, a gang based in the Trumbull Gardens area of Bridgeport that committed acts of violence against rival gangs, including the East End gang, the East Side gang, a West End gang and the PT Barnum gang, officials said.
O.N.E. members reportedly robbed drug dealers, customers and others, sold narcotics and stole cars from inside and outside Connecticut, often using the cars to commit crimes, according officials. Gang members frequently used social media to promote and coordinate their criminal activities.
In November 2019, O.N.E. members reportedly stole a Lexus Rx350 from Rye, New York, and in early December 2019, O.N.E. members were involved in multiple shots-fired incidents in Bridgeport. In one incident, the mother of rival gang members was shot outside of her Bridgeport home. On Dec. 8, 2019, O.N.E. members used the stolen Lexus in a shooting incident at the P.T. Barnum Housing Complex, damaging several cars, and then drove it to Newfield Avenue in Bridgeport where Gilbert and other O.N.E. members reportedly shot and killed 18-year-old Ty’Quess Moore, according to court records.
Gilbert and other O.N.E. members posted videos to social media in which they reportedly brandished firearms, celebrated violent gang culture and referenced rivals who were killed.
Gilbert has been detained since his arrest on July 19, 2021. On Nov. 21, 2023, a jury found him guilty of racketeering conspiracy.
Approximately 47 members and associates of multiple Bridgeport-based gangs were convicted of federal offenses stemming from this investigation, which solved eight homicides and approximately 20 attempted homicides, according to officials.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
