Conn. man sentenced to 9 years in drug killings

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A Bridgeport man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the drug-related baseball bat killings of three people.

U.S. District Judge Janet Arterton said Monday in sentencing 35-year-old John Taylor in New Haven federal court that he testified against three co-defendants and showed remorse. Taylor pleaded guilty in 2010 to three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, the same charges facing his co-defendants.

Prosecutors said 43-year-old Tina Johnson was involved in a turf dispute with Azibo Aquart, leader of a Bridgeport trafficking ring. She was killed in 2005 along with her 40-year-old boyfriend James Reid Jr., and 54-year-old Basil Williams.

Last year, Aquart was convicted and sentenced to death, and his brother, Azikiwe Aquart, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life. Efrain Johnson was convicted in February and awaits sentencing.