Devonte Gardne

Devonte Gardne, a 28-year-old man from Waterbury, Connecticut, was a father who, according to loved ones, was striving to create a better life for his children. Friends remembered him as a respectful person with a great heart who was working at a car rental agency in Waterbury. Though he had faced troubles in his past, his best friend, Jatejhia Trent, said he was focused on the future. "He was just trying to make an honest living," she shared after his death. "For the first time in his life, do right actually. So that's what hurt me the most like he was doing something good for his kids."

On the evening of September 14, 2022, Gardne was in East Hartford, reportedly visiting a friend. At around 7:45 p.m., residents near the intersection of Park Avenue and Garden Street called the police to report the sound of multiple gunshots. Officers from the East Hartford Police Department arrived to find Devonte Gardne lying in the street, suffering from several gunshot wounds. Police and first responders administered life-saving measures at the scene before he was rushed to Hartford Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. The neighborhood, which residents described as typically quiet, was shaken by the violence.

The East Hartford Police Department launched an active investigation, collecting evidence and reviewing surveillance footage from the area. Investigators quickly announced they had identified a person of interest in the case. The investigation soon focused on 21-year-old Mekhi Thompson, who had a significant criminal history. According to probation officials, Thompson was on probation for a 2019 triple shooting and was required to wear a GPS ankle monitor. On the same day that Devonte Gardne was killed, Thompson cut off and discarded the monitoring device.

For weeks, Thompson remained at large. Then, on October 30, 2022, East Hartford officers spotted him driving a stolen vehicle on Park Avenue, the same street where the homicide occurred. When they attempted to pull him over, Thompson led them on a high-speed chase into Hartford's North End. He eventually abandoned the car and fled on foot but was quickly captured by a joint effort of East Hartford and Hartford police. Inside the vehicle, officers found a Glock 9mm handgun that had been illegally modified to be fully automatic, along with a 30-round high-capacity magazine.

While Thompson was initially held on a host of motor vehicle and weapons charges, the investigation into Gardne's death continued. A major development came in January 2025, when a federal indictment was unsealed, charging Mekhi Thompson and six other alleged members of a Hartford gang with murder and racketeering offenses. The indictment specifically alleges that on September 14, 2022, Thompson and another individual had a confrontation with Devonte Gardne concerning a rental car that Thompson had not returned. The indictment states that Thompson then shot and killed Gardne.

The federal indictment also charges Thompson with the October 27, 2022, murder of another man, Manuel Rodriguez, in a separate road rage incident in Hartford. For the murder of Devonte Gardne, Thompson was charged with murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. Following the indictment, his best friend’s words echoed the profound loss felt by his family. "You took my best friend, you took my kids' father," Jatejhia Trent said. "That's something I can never get back, that's not what he deserves." As of January 2025, Mekhi Thompson was in custody and detained pending a trial on the federal charges. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the East Hartford Police Department.