Member of Violent New Haven Gang Sentenced to 84 Months in Federal Prison

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - SAMUEL DOUGLAS, also known as "Blamm," 25, of New Haven, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent New Haven street gang.

Today's announcement was made by Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; John P. Doyle, Jr., State's Attorney for the New Haven Judicial District; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England; and New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to address violence in New Haven, the ATF, FBI, DEA and New Haven Police Department, working closely with the U.S. Attorney's Office and New Haven State's Attorney's Office, have been investigating an ongoing gang war between members and associates of the Exit 8 street gang and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of the city. The Exit 8 gang is named after the geographic area accessed by exiting Interstate 91 at Exit 8 in New Haven. Recently, younger members of Exit 8 are identifying themselves with the word "Honcho," which is derived from the street name of an Exit 8 member who was murdered on Quinnipiac Avenue in February 2020.

The investigation revealed that Douglas and other members of the Exit 8 gang engaged in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and, from 2018 to 2023, committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders. Exit 8 members and associates also stole vehicles, at times from outside of the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence. Gang members also promoted, coordinated, facilitated, and celebrated their narcotics distribution and acts of violence through text messaging and the use of social media applications and websites including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

On April 22, 2024, Douglas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, and specifically admitted that on June 16, 2018, he and fellow Exit 8 member Kiveon Hyman shot at and attempted to kill a member and associate of a rival gang in the area of Fountain Street, Davis Street, and Lakeview Terrace in New Haven. In the shooting, the intended victim's associate suffered seven gunshot wounds, but survived the attack. Investigators found 15 spent ammunition casings at the scene.

Investigators subsequently recovered two handguns that fired the ammunition casings that were collected at the scene. One handgun was seized in March 2019 from a now-deceased Exit 8 member. National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) analysis of the second handgun, which was recovered during a New Haven Police investigation in January 2020, linked it to eight other shooting incidents in New Haven in 2018.

Douglas has been detained since November 10, 2022.

Hyman pleaded guilty and, on April 1, 2024, was sentenced to 78 months of imprisonment.

This investigation has been conducted by ATF, the FBI, the DEA, the New Haven Police Department, the Hamden Police Department, and the New Haven State's Attorney's Office, with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale and Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis.

This prosecution is a part of the Justice's Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Longevity is a comprehensive initiative to reduce gun violence in Connecticut's major cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement directly engage with members of groups that are prone to commit violence and deliver a community message against violence, a law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence and an offer of help for those who want it. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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