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Luis Mercado, age 55, of Bridgeport, and 35-year-old Luis Mejias, of Waterbury, were sentenced on Monday, June 27, to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut.
They both pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon on Friday, March 25, the US Attorney's Office said.
On the morning of April 2, 2018, police attempted to stop a car that was operating with unlit taillights on the west side of Bridgeport, according to the report.
The car fled, and officers reportedly saw items being thrown from the windows during a police pursuit.
Officers arrested Mercado, who was driving the car, and Dominick Gonzalez, Roberts Avery said.
Police also recovered two loaded handguns and marijuana that had been thrown from the vehicle, the report said.
The US Attorney's Office said officers located the following during a search of the car:
- A black ski mask
- A pair of binoculars
- A container of gasoline
Investigators found that Mercado, Gonzalez, Mejias, George Rivera, and Jason Scott were all involved in a plan to murder an individual and set fire to the Wood Avenue Body Shop in Bridgeport where the individual worked, the report said.
Mejias, Rivera, and Scott were arrested at a hotel in Milford that morning, the US Attorney's Office said.
The US Attorney's Office said police found the following in the hotel room:
- A loaded Smith and Wesson model M&P 15-22 caliber rifle
- A loaded Taurus “Judge” revolver
- A loaded Anderson Manufacturing AR-15 multi-caliber rifle
- A loaded 12-gauge shotgun
- Additional ammunition
- Brass knuckles
- Binoculars
- Gloves
- A knit mask
- Packaged heroin
- Ecstasy pills
- Marijuana
- A digital scale
Gonzalez, Rivera, and Scott also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, Roberts Avery said.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport and Milford Police Departments, according to the report.
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