A Connecticut teen faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in a violent street gang, according to federal authorities.
Nyzaire Barnes, also known as “Melo,” 19, of New Haven, pleaded guilty this week before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to a racketeering offense stemming from his role in a violent New Haven street gang known as Exit 8, according to federal authorities. .
Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said 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.”
“The Exit 8 gang is named after the geographic area accessed by exiting Interstate 91 at Exit 8 in New Haven,” federal authorities said in a statement. “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.”
Authorities said the probe found that Barnes 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 of the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence,” federal authorities said in the statement. “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.”
Barnes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, and “specifically admitted that he took part in two gang-related shootings.”
“On April 12, 2022, Barnes and other Exit 8 members shot and attempted to kill rival gang members,” federal authorities said in the statement. “On January 20, 2023, Exit 8 members, including Devin Suggs, stole an SUV in Scarsdale, New York. Later that day, Barnes and Suggs committed a drive-by shooting of a rival gang member in New Haven. The victim was shot in the head, but survived the attack.”
Barnes has been in custody since August 3, 2023; he faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison. Suggs pleaded guilty to the same charge on February 20, 2024, and awaits sentencing.
The investigation was done by ATF, FBI, DEA, the New Haven Police Department, Hamden Police Department, and New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.