Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ERIC CHAMBERS, 37, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 260 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in several violent armed robberies in 2017 during which two individuals were shot and wounded.
According to court documents and statements made in court:
On September 27, 2017, Chambers’ half-brother, Jachim Brown, wearing a mask and pointing a gun, entered Nikita’s Bar, located on Iranistan Avenue in Bridgeport, and pointed a gun at the only employee who was working at the time. Brown directed the employee to a location behind the bar to retrieve a key to a safe. After the employee complied, Brown opened the safe and stole approximately $2,450. During this robbery, Chambers’ car can be seen on surveillance video driving past the entrance to the bar. Chambers had previously worked security at the bar.
In the early morning hours of November 9, 2017, Brown, again brandishing a gun, robbed an employee of Avenue Café who was couriering approximately $2,000 in cash to Bishop’s Corner Café on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport. Surveillance video outside Bishop’s Corner again revealed Chambers’ car in close vicinity to the robbery. On November 13, 2017, the same employee, who had delegated his money courier responsibilities to another security guard after the November 9 robbery, was again confronted by Brown. When Brown realized that the employee did not have the cash, he shot the employee in the thigh.
On November 14, 2017, Brown, wearing a mask and brandishing a gun, entered the Bar Restaurant, located on Main Street in Stratford, and walked directly to a bin near the cash register that typically contained approximately 80 envelopes with cash payments for employees of the Bar Restaurant and other establishments. Brown grabbed the bin, pointed his gun at one employee’s head, and turned and fired at a second employee who had his hands raised, hitting the second employee in his stomach. Surveillance video revealed that Brown had been dropped off behind the restaurant by Chambers.
On November 16, 2017, at about 9:35 a.m., Bridgeport Police responded to a call of an armed robbery in progress at EbLens, located on Pequonnock Street in Bridgeport. After Brown exited the store, a Bridgeport Police officer chased him on foot. As Brown attempted to get into Chambers’ car, he turned and fired at the police officer. The officer returned fire, tackled Brown and placed him under arrest.
At the time of his arrest, Brown possessed a Raven P25 .25 ACP caliber handgun. Forensic analysis of the firearm revealed that it had also been used in the shootings of the two individuals on November 13 and 14.
Chambers has been detained since his arrest on April 30, 2018. On March 19, 2019, a jury found him guilty of four counts of aiding and abetting Hobbs Act robbery.
On May 29, 2019, Brown, also known as “Ameer Edwards,” pleaded guilty to four counts of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. On February 24, 2020, Judge Dooley sentenced him to 260 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bridgeport Police Department and Stratford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale, Jocelyn Kaoutzanis and Peter Markle.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
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