HARTFORD, Conn. — A Waterbury man was sentenced Tuesday for his role in the 2020 abduction and killing of a Massachusetts man, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
41-year-old Calvin Roberson, also known as "Cutty," was sentenced by a judge in Hartford to 29 years in prison, with an additional five years of supervised release. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and one count of causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm.
On December 24, 2020, 28-year-old Francisco Roman Jr. was held at gunpoint and taken from his residence in Chicopee, Mass., by Roberson and 36-year-old Brandon Batiste, according to court documents and statements made in court.
Roberson and Batiste threatened and handcuffed Roman, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said. They also stole his personal belongings, including cash and marijuana.
Roman was then forced into his 2010 Acura ZDX and was shot and killed by Batiste while being driven to Hartford, according to Avery. The two suspects left the car and took the stolen personal items to an apartment that was shared with 34-year-old Shamari Smith of Manchester, Conn.
The Acura, parked in the street on Shultas Place, was found engulfed in flames just before 9 p.m. on December 26, 2020 by Hartford's police and fire departments. After crews extinguished the fire, Roman's body was discovered in the rear of the car with multiple gunshot wounds.
Roberson has been detained since being arrested on Feb. 11, 2021.
The sentencing of Roberson comes after Batiste, last living in Chicopee, Mass., pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 42 years in prison in December 2023.
Smith was sentenced to more than 2 years in prison in October 2023 after she pleaded guilty to failing to report her knowledge of Roman's death to police.
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