‘Violent’ New Haven gang member gets 7 years in prison: Justice Department

NEW HAVEN, CT — Samuel Douglas, 25, of New Haven, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to seven years in a federal prison followed by three years of probation for his membership in a violent New Haven street gang, according to U.S. Attorney for CT Vanessa Roberts Avery.

A press release from the Department of Justice said that ATF, FBI, DEA and New Haven police, in cooperation with Avery's office, are “investigating an ongoing gang war between members and associates of the Exit 8 street gang and rival gangs in the Hill neighborhood and other parts of the city.”

The Exit 8 gang is named after the geographic area reached when exiting Interstate 91 at Exit 8 in New Haven, according to investigators. Lately, younger members of Exit 8 have been 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, Avery said.

“The investigation revealed that Douglas and other members of the Exit 8 gang were involved in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders from 2018 to 2023,” prosecutors said, adding that Exit 8 members and accomplices also stole cars and used them “in the commission of violent acts.”

“Gang members also promoted, coordinated, facilitated and celebrated their drug distribution and violent acts through text messages and the use of social media applications and websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube,” prosecutors said.

“On April 22, Douglas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a series of organized crime activities and specifically admitted that on June 16, 2018, he and fellow Exit 8 member Kiveon Hyman shot and attempted to kill a member and accomplice of a rival gang in the area of ​​Fountain Street, Davis Street and Lakeview Terrace in New Haven,” Avery said. In the shooting, the intended victim's accomplice suffered seven gunshot wounds but survived the attack. Investigators found 15 shell casings at the scene.

Investigators found two handguns that fired the ammunition casings collected at the scene, one of which was seized in March 2019 from a now-deceased Exit 8 member. Avery said National Integrated Ballistic Information Network analysis of the second handgun, seized during a police investigation in New Haven in January 2020, linked it to eight other shootings in New Haven in 2018, officials said.

Douglas has been in custody since November 10, 2022. Hyman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 78 months in prison on April 1.