BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBS12) — Eric Hayes, 28, also known as “Heavyweight Champ,” was sentenced to nearly 14 years in federal prison for his involvement in gang-related violence, including the murder of one man and the attempted murder of another, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced on Friday.
Court documents reveal that Hayes was a prominent member of the East End, O.N.E. gang, a Bridgeport-based criminal organization with affiliations to the PT Barnum Gang, East Side gang, and 150. Hayes played a central role in a series of violent crimes that spanned several years.
One key incident occurred on January 26, 2020, when East End members shot and killed Myreke Kenion and attempted to murder D’Andre Brown, both of whom were associated with a rival gang from the Charles F. Greene Homes Housing Complex. The following day, members of the GHB/Hotz and O.N.E. gangs retaliated with a daylight shooting outside a state courthouse, injuring four individuals inside a vehicle.
In addition to his involvement in the 2020 shooting, Hayes was held responsible for the March 5, 2019, murder of Jerrell Gatewood, a member of the Terrace gang, and for helping coordinate the attempted murder of Marquis Isreal on September 15, 2019, inside a Bridgeport restaurant.
Hayes was arrested on September 25, 2019, with a loaded .45-caliber handgun, which forensic evidence linked to the Isreal shooting. Hayes, along with three co-defendants—Trevon Wright, Keishawn Donald, and Travon Jones—was convicted of racketeering conspiracy in December 2023. Wright, Donald, and Jones had already been sentenced.
The investigation into the East End, O.N.E., and GHB/Hotz gangs has led to the conviction of approximately 47 gang members and associates, solving eight murders and about 20 attempted murders.
