Back on March 30th, 2024, two city men were shot and killed while committing an armed robbery inside an illegal gambling club on Stratford Avenue.

On Tuesday, the Bridgeport Police arrested a Bridgeport woman who helped run the club by conspiring with those men to pull off the crime.

Shanica Merced, 35, was taken into custody on an active felony warrant during a motor vehicle stop by Bridgeport Police Task Force Officers on the East Side. She was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Robbery in the First Degree, as well as Illegal Gambling, for her role in helping to run the club.

Merced’s bond was $250,000.

Shortly before midnight on March 30th, Tayvon Geter, 33, and Richard Davis, 30, were killed in an exchange of gunfire, when of one the gamblers they were robbing at gunpoint inside of the club opened fire. The gambler was also struck by several bullets, but survived. Shanica Merced was grazed by a round while fleeing the gunfire.

In June, Marcus Famer, 37, also of Bridgeport, was also arrested on an illegal Gambling warrant for his role in running the club. Farmer was inside the club at the time of the incident. Police do not believe he was involved in the robbery. Farmer was a parole obsconder when he turned himself in on the warrant.

He was also charged with stealing a gun from one of the suspects, after the suspect was shot, and was laying on the ground. Farmer was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Firearm and Tampering with Evidence. He was remanded to the custody of the State Department of Corrections.

The investigation found that Merced and Farmer also had a personal relationship, outside of their roles in operating the club.

Sean Ellam, 38, of Bridgeport, was also arrested in May as part of the investigation. Police found Ellam stole a gun from the other suspect while the suspect lay dead on the ground outside of the club in the aftermath of the shootings. Ellam was charged with Stealing a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, and Tampering with Evidence.

The arrests were part of a comprehensive investigation into the incident, which was conducted by Bridgeport Police Department’s Homicide Unit, with assistance from the Office of the State’s Attorney.

Detectives used extensive surveillance video as part of their investigation. The video showed Shanica Merced allowing Geter and Davis, who were the only ones wearing masks, into the club, and sitting alone with them for an extended period before they began the robbery.

Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter Sr., and other city officials held a press conference outside of the shuttered club at 1542 Stratford Ave. following the shootings, to ensure that it would not be reopened, and to encourage citizens to report the presence of such establishments in their neighborhoods.