Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROY ISIAH JACKSON, also known as “I,” 22, of New Haven, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 110 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for racketeering and firearm offenses stemming from his participation in a violent New Haven-based street gang.

This matter stems from an investigation into a criminal enterprise known as the Red Side Guerilla Brims (“RSGB”), a sect of the Bloods street gang that operated in New Haven from 2011 through 2015, which was engaged in narcotics trafficking and related acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, assaults and armed robberies. In addition to distributing crack cocaine and other narcotics in and around New Haven, members and associates of the RSGB transported crack and heroin to Bangor, Maine, and sold the drugs in Bangor and its surrounding communities. The RSGB also traded narcotics for firearms, brought the firearms back to New Haven and distributed them to gang members. To date, approximately 22 members and associates of the Connecticut faction of the RSGB been charged and convicted of federal narcotics and firearms offenses in Connecticut and Maine.

On February 14, 2017, JACKSON, a member of the RSGB, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity, one count of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and one count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

In pleading guilty, JACKSON admitted that, on March 19, 2012, he was involved in an exchange of gunfire with a rival gang on South Genesee Street in New Haven. Although approximately 30 shots were fired during the incident, no one was injured. He also admitted that, on May 30, 2012, he and others, armed with firearms, committed a home invasion robbery of a residence located on Putnam Street in New Haven, during which they threatened the residents and removed a safe containing an amount of cash from the home.

JACKSON also participated in the trafficking of crack cocaine in Connecticut and Maine, and he sold crack in Maine in exchange for firearms that he and others transported to Connecticut.

This investigation has been conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the New Haven Police Department, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut State Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Hamden Police Department. The New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office also provided critical assistance in the investigation.

An instrumental component of the investigation has been the work of the Connecticut State Crime Laboratory in utilizing the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to analyze ballistics evidence.

This matter is being prosecuted in the District of Connecticut by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Spector, Peter Markle and Jocelyn Kaoutzanis. A related case in the District of Maine is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey.

###