New Haven Gang Member Gets 6+ Year Prison Term For Racketeering: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — A 26-year-old New Haven man will serve 78 months in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney and other federal officials.

Kiveon Hyman was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven for a racketeering offense stemming from his role in a "violent New Haven street gang," according to a news release from US Attorney for Connecticut, Vanessa Roberts Avery.

According to Avery, court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to address violence in New Haven, including murders and attempted murders, 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."

Federal prosecutors and investigators said 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," per the Justice Department

According to Avery, the investigation revealed that Hyman 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. Officials said Exit 8 members and associates 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, federal authorities said.

"Specifically, on June 16, 2018, Hyman and other Exit 8 members 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," the US Attorney said. "In the shooting, the intended victim’s associate suffered seven gunshot wounds, but survived the attack. Investigators found 15 spent ammunition casings."

Hyman has been in jail since his arrest in March 2023. On Oct. 12, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity.