Today it was announced that two more gang members from the FBI's investigation named Operation Slim Fast, were sentenced in the New Haven, Connecticut federal court.
On January 28, United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton sentenced Stefan Winston, also known as “Cuda” and “Pooh,” 31, to 165 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. On January 29, Judge Arterton sentenced Alexis Ramos, also known as “Snake Rattle,” 31, to 100 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release.
On August 16, 2011, Stefan Winston; whose crime record includes a lengthy list of felony convictions, including convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm and armed robbery, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 28 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack cocaine”). The investigation revealed that, in addition to narcotics trafficking, Winston was involved in the straw purchase of two firearms and also possessed and used firearms on a regular basis. At the time of his arrest on January 5, 2011, Winston possessed an assault rifle and a handgun, both of which were loaded.
On August 14, 2012, Alexis Ramos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base. His crime records includes multiple convictions for sale and possession of narcotics and possession of weapons. Ramos was also arrested on January 5, 2011.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Winston, Ramos, and others were members of the Sex, Money, Murder set of the Marina Village Bloods and sold large quantities of narcotics from an abandoned residence at 105/107 Johnson Street, which is located across from the street from the Marina Village Housing Complex. On multiple occasions, gang members were intercepted over court-authorized wiretaps discussing their narcotics trafficking activities. The wiretapped conversations further revealed that members of the Marina Village Bloods alternately referred to the Johnson Street residence as the “kitchen,” “trap,” or “white house.”
In 2010, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force initiated an investigation, Operation Slim Fast. Along with local and other federal agencies, they focused on the narcotics trafficking activity in and around the Marina Village Housing Complex in Bridgeport, Connecticut with the main focus on the Marina Village Bloods, who have been found to be responsible for, or connected to, multiple shootings in Bridgeport.
As a result of this investigation, 19 individuals have been charged in federal court with various narcotics and firearms related offenses, and law enforcement officers seized approximately four kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of crack cocaine, a quantity of heroin, an SKS assault rifle, five handguns, and more than $150,000 in cash.
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