By Tiffany Williams –
Devin Suggs, also known as “JB,” a 20-year-old violent street gang member with the Exit 8 street gang in New Haven, CT., was sentenced July 29, 2024 by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 168 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
On February 20, 2024, Suggs pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, and specifically admitted that he took part in five shootings in New Haven.
A joint law enforcement investigation to address violence in New Haven and 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 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.
The investigation also revealed that Exit 8 members and associates stole vehicles, at times from outside of the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence.
Members of the Exit 8 gang promoted, coordinated, facilitated, and celebrated their narcotics distribution and acts of violence through text messaging and the use of social media applications and websites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
Suggs, when pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, also admitted his involvement in five shootings between April 2021 and January 2023.
On April 27, 2021, Suggs and other members of the Exit 8 gang shot a rival gang member in the leg.
On May 14, 2021, Suggs and other members of the Exit 8 gang shot a rival gang member in the leg and torso.
On May 20, 2021, Suggs and other members of the Exit 8 gang shot a person in the back and another person in the leg.
On January 20, 2023, Suggs and other Exit 8 members stole an SUV in Scarsdale, New York, and, later that day, Suggs and Exit 8 member Nyzaire Barnes committed a drive-by shooting of a rival gang member in New Haven. The victim was shot in the head, but did survive the attack.