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Stamford Police Make Second Arrest In January Attempted Murder

STAMFORD, Conn. — Police have arrested a second man in a January attempted murder in Stamford and said they are relieved to have wrapped up a crime spree involving a number of individuals in Fairfield County.

Onaje Smith

Onaje Smith

Photo Credit: Stamford Police Department

Onaje Smith, 18, of 32 Beechwood Ave., Bridgeport, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count conspiracy to commit murder. His bond was set at $1 million.

"He was one of the guys who was wreaking holy hell on the area, and his world is coming down upon him with the charges we have," Stamford police Lt. Thomas Barcello.

Related story: Arrest made in execution-style shooting of teen at Bodega in Stamford.

The other suspect, Tyreik Gantt, 19, of Stamford was arrested Friday on similar charges. They are accused of trying to shoot a 19-year-old man on High Street on Jan. 19, police said. They shot at the man at on High Street, and then about 15 minutes later he was shot in the head when he entered a West Side convenience store, police said. The man survived the shooting. 

The two men, along with Stamford residents Jeremy Middleton, 18, of 28 Perry St., and Jaiden Parker, 20, of 145 Montauk Drive, are also facing charges in connection with the robberies of a delivery men in Norwalk in January. Bridgeport Police are also involved in the investigation in connection with crimes in that city.

Related story: Norwalk police arrest fourth suspect in delivery driver robberies

Barcello said police placed a priority on solving the cases, especially due to the level of violence involved.

“These guys were the real deal,” he said. "They thought they were like Teflon, untouchable.”

He said there wasn't one key element in solving the case, instead it was the steady accumulation of evidence and the close cooperation among the Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport police departments in the case.

"There were a a lot of small pieces of information that came together," Barcello said. "It’s a great satisfaction to have this kind of result with this many people involved and to have this kind of focus on an investigation is phenomenal.

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