New Haven 'Gang Member' Admits Role In Murder, Racketeering: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — Quaymar Suggs, 20, of New Haven, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Haven to a racketeering charge related to his participation in a violent New Haven street gang and the murder of an associate of a rival gang in May 2021, the Justice Department announced.

According to Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, 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 a 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 and 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.

Avery said the investigation revealed that Suggs and other members of the Exit 8 gang engaged in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and, since June 2018, have committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders.

Exit 8 members and associates also stole vehicles, at times from outside the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence, federal prosecutors said.

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, prosecutors said.

Suggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, including acts of violence, narcotics trafficking, and gun sales, and specifically admitted that, on May 19, 2021, he shot and killed an associate of a rival gang, according to federal officials. Suggs also admitted that in 2021, he and other Exit 8 members broke into a Connecticut state trooper’s car and stole the trooper’s duty bag, per Avery.

At sentencing, Suggs detained since March 24, 2023, faces a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

This investigation is being 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 Tara E. Levens, 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. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.

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.