Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that DELTON PYLES, also known as “Koolie,” 29, of New Haven, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in a violent New Haven street gang.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2014, ATF and the New Haven Police Department began “Operation Red Side” through a series of controlled narcotics purchases and firearms seizures.  The investigation revealed that members and associates of the Red Side Guerilla Brims (“RSGB”), a sect of the Bloods street gang based in New Haven, were 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, the investigation indicated that members and associates of the RSGB, under the direction of Jeffrey Benton and others, transported the drugs to Bangor, Maine, and sold them in Bangor and its surrounding communities.  The RSGB also traded narcotics for firearms and used drug addicts as straw purchasers of firearms.  Members then brought the firearms back to New Haven and distributed them to gang members.

PYLES was a member of the RSGB.  The investigation revealed that PYLES was a crack cocaine dealer in the New Haven area, and he supplied other RSGB members with distribution quantities of crack.  On March 19, 2012, PYLES and others were involved in a shootout with a rival gang on South Genessee Street in New Haven.  Although more than 20 rounds were fired, no one was injured.  The gun that PYLES used during the shooting had been acquired from a straw purchaser in Maine.

PYLES has been detained since his arrest on June 26, 2015.  On September 8, 2015, he pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of crack cocaine.

As a result of this investigation, 21 members and associates of the RSGB were convicted of federal charges in Connecticut and Maine.  The investigation has resolved seven murder cases, four attempted murders and four armed robberies that occurred in 2011 and 2012.

Benton pleaded guilty to various offenses stemming from this investigation and admitted that he participated in four gang-related murders and one attempted murder.  On October 4, 2017, he was sentenced to 480 months of imprisonment.

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 Jocelyn Kaoutzanis and Peter Markle.  A related case in the District of Maine is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey.

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