On the evening of September 14, 2017, a 19-year-old Hispanic male named Eric Diaz of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was involved in a fatal encounter. At approximately 10 p.m., at the intersection of Beardsley Street and Newfield Avenue, Diaz approached a Nissan sedan. After he entered the front passenger seat, a single gunshot was heard. Witnesses reported seeing Diaz fall out of the vehicle and attempt to walk away before collapsing on the sidewalk.
Police responded to reports of shots fired and found Diaz with a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was transported to Bridgeport Hospital, where he died from his injuries a few hours later. The incident marked the city's 20th homicide of the year.
The investigation into the death of Eric Diaz led police to 53-year-old Lonnie Mebane of Stratford. Authorities determined that Mebane had arranged to buy heroin from Diaz with the intention of robbing him. On the night of the shooting, Mebane was waiting in his father's car at the East End intersection for Diaz to arrive. After Diaz entered the car, Mebane shot him during the course of the robbery. In the weeks following the shooting, detectives identified Mebane as the primary suspect. He was apprehended at his residence on November 15, 2017, and charged with murder, felony murder, and first-degree robbery, among other offenses. He was held on a $1 million bond.
Lonnie Mebane had a significant criminal history, having been released from prison in 2011 after serving 25 years for a violent 1985 home invasion in Stratford where he stabbed two young boys. In May 2022, a jury found Mebane guilty of murder with a firearm, criminal use of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit for the killing of Eric Diaz. In July 2022, a judge sentenced the 57-year-old Mebane to 60 years in prison. During the sentencing, the judge noted Mebane's history of violent crimes and the need to protect the public. The victim's father addressed Mebane in court, expressing the profound loss and the future with his son that had been taken away.
