2 men from Waterbury, Connecticut, sentenced to prison for membership in a violent gang

WATERBURY, Connecticut — Editor's note: The above video originally aired on May 15, 2024.

Two brothers from Waterbury have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a violent street gang, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

Ezra Alves, 24, was sentenced to 21 years in prison and five years probation, the Justice Department said. He has been in custody since November 15, 2019.

Ahmed Alves was sentenced to four and a half years in prison followed by three years of probation. He was arrested on September 16, 2021, released on $100,000 bail, and is due to report to jail on October 7.

On September 14, 2021, a grand jury in federal court in Hartford indicted 16 members of Waterbury's 960 street gang, including the two brothers, charging them with organized crime, drug trafficking, weapons possession, murder, attempted murder, assault and obstruction of justice, according to the Justice Department.

The charges are part of efforts by the FBI, ATF and Waterbury police to “combat drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury” by investigating several groups in the city, the Justice Department said.

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On March 20, Ezra Alves pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit organized crime, three counts of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of organized crime, two counts of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to possess and distribute controlled substances with intent to resell.

He explicitly admitted that he, along with other members of the 960 gang, was involved in drug trafficking and violent activities and was involved in a conspiracy to shoot and murder rival gang members, the Justice Department said.

According to the Justice Department, Ezra Alves and 960 other gang members were involved in three separate drive-by shootings. The first occurred on September 21, 2018, at an occupied home on Scott Road, “in retaliation for the murder of an accomplice”; the second occurred on October 6, 2018, in an attempted murder of rival gang members, injuring one person; and the third occurred on November 18, 2018, also in a shooting targeting rival gang members, injuring two people.

Ahmed Alves pleaded guilty on March 12 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of aiding and abetting after the fact.

He admitted to smuggling drugs for the 960 gang and using a stolen car to pick up gang members involved in the Nov. 18, 2018, shooting, the Justice Department said. The members were driven to a gang member's home, where a stash of weapons was kept, and after the car was dropped off in Meriden, he picked them up again.

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