NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Another member of New Haven’s notoriously violent Exit 8 gang has pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Prosecutors said that on Tuesday in New Haven, 20-year-old Quaymar Suggs, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense related to his involvement in the Exit 8 gang as well as the murder of an associate of a rival gang in May 2021.
A collaboration between New Haven police, the ATF, FBI, DEA, U.S. Attorney’s Office and New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office is investigating a gang war between those affiliated with the Exit 8 gang and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of the city.
According to prosecutors, the Exit 8 gang is named after the geographic area accessed by exiting Interstate 91 at Exit 8 in New Haven. Young members of the gang now identify as “Honcho” in memory of an Exit 8 gang member who was murdered on Quinnipiac Avenue in February 2020.
The investigation into Suggs discovered that he and other members of the Exit 8 gang trafficked drugs, used and shared firearms and, since June 2018, committed at least three murders and attempted 16 more, prosecutors said. Members of the gang also produced, coordinated, facilitated and celebrated their drug trafficking/distribution and violent acts through text messaging and social media.
Prosecutors noted that Suggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, including acts of violence, narcotics trafficking and gun sales. He specifically admitted that he shot and killed an associate of a rival gang on May 19, 2021, and that, in the same year, he and other Exit 8 gang members broke into a Connecticut state trooper’s police car and stole the trooper’s duty bag, according to prosecutors.
Suggs has been detained since March 24, 2023. His sentencing has not been scheduled, but prosecutors say Suggs faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Suggs is one of several Exit 8 gang members to appear in court this year, according to prosecutors. In April, Exit 8 gang member Antwan “Bandz” Hill pleaded guilty to racketeering and admitted his role in two murders and two other shootings.
Also in April, Exit 8 gang member Samuel “Blamm” Douglas pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and admitted that on June 16, 2018, he and another Exit 8 gang member shot and attempted to kill a rival gang member and associate.
Several days later, Exit 8 gang member Tyjon “TJ” Preston pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense and admitted to taking part in multiple violent acts, including the murder of a woman who recorded a derogatory rap about the gang.
In June, Jaedyn “Jae Honcho” Rivera, of the Exit 8 gang, was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity and admitting that he took part in four shootings of rival gang members in May 2021.
RELATED: ‘Jae Honcho’ of New Haven’s violent Exit 8 gang is sentenced to more than 15 years in prison
In addition to the aforementioned agencies, the investigation was also conducted by the Hamden Police Department and the Connecticut State Police with assistance from the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.
The prosecution is part of the Justice Department’s Project Save Neighborhoods, or PSN, Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, or OCDETF, programs.
PSN brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and strengthen the safety of neighborhoods. Project Longevity works to reduce gun violence in Connecticut’s major cities by creating engagement between community, law enforcement and members of the groups that are prone to commit violence.
“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,” the release said.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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