On the night of December 15, 2022, a burst of gunfire shattered the evening calm on a Bronx street, leaving one man dead and another wounded. Johnny Gaston, a 32-year-old male, was fatally shot in the head in front of 189 Burnside Avenue. The incident, which unfolded at approximately 10:02 p.m., prompted a swift response from the 46th Precinct, who arrived to find two victims of the shooting. Gaston was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
A second victim, a 27-year-old man, was also transported to the same hospital with a gunshot wound to the groin and was listed in stable condition.
The investigation into the homicide quickly pointed to a robbery gone wrong. Authorities later revealed that Gaston and the other man had been lured to the location by members of the Trinitarios gang with the intention of being robbed. The violent encounter escalated, resulting in the fatal shooting of Gaston. This event triggered an intensive investigation by the NYPD, who sought the public's help in identifying those responsible for the brazen act of violence.
The first break in the case came on January 3, 2023, with the arrest of 19-year-old Gibran Guerrero. He was initially charged with a slate of serious offenses including murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, robbery, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. Several months later, a second suspect, 26-year-old Yorvin Gomez, also known as 'Julbie,' was taken into custody in connection with the murder. Gomez faced a similar array of charges, including murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a loaded firearm.
The legal proceedings against Guerrero and Gomez took a significant turn when the case was elevated to the federal level. Both men were transferred from state to federal custody and faced new, more severe charges, including racketeering conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering, tying the homicide directly to their alleged activities as members of the Trinitarios gang. The federal indictment accused them of terrorizing the Bronx through a series of violent crimes. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield, with the trial for both defendants being scheduled for sometime in 2025.
