On September 19, 2011, the body of 27-year-old Darick M. Cooper was discovered in a vacant house on Goodrich Street in Hamden, Connecticut. A New Haven resident, Cooper was found on a staircase, having been fatally shot once in the back of the head. The discovery was made in the afternoon after police received a call to the location. The house had recently been deemed uninhabitable due to a water leak and resulting mold.
The initial investigation by the Hamden Police Department quickly
determined that Cooper's death was a homicide. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound. As detectives processed the scene, a large and emotional crowd of family and friends gathered nearby, seeking answers and creating a volatile atmosphere that required assistance from New Haven police for crowd control. Cooper was described by a cousin as "good-spirited" and a "beautiful person," and it was revealed that he was an expectant father.
The investigation into Darick Cooper’s murder eventually uncovered a grim narrative of gang violence. It was determined that Cooper, himself the leader of a rival gang, was targeted by the New Haven-based Red Side Guerilla Brims a sect of the Bloods street gang. Leaders of the RSGB, including Jeffrey Benton, viewed Cooper as a threat and ordered his murder.
Years after the killing, a sweeping federal investigation into the RSGB's criminal activities, dubbed "Operation Red Side," led to the arrests of multiple gang members. In March 2017, Robert Short, also known as "Santana," pleaded guilty to murdering Cooper. He admitted that he had been ordered by RSGB leaders to carry out the killing. On the day of the murder, Short lured Cooper to the Hamden house and shot him as he walked up a staircase.
Ultimately, justice for Darick Cooper came through the dismantling of the violent gang responsible for his death. Robert Short was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder. The leader who ordered the hit, Jeffrey Benton, received a 40-year prison sentence for his role in Cooper's death and other violent gang-related crimes. Another accomplice, Keith Young, who had offered to help with the murder and assisted in disposing of the firearm, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his involvement. The investigation brought convictions against 21 members and associates of the RSGB, resolving multiple homicides and other violent crimes that had plagued the New Haven area.
