District of Connecticut | Two members of violent Waterbury gang sentenced to prison

EZRA ALVES, also known as “EJ” and “Ezzy,” 24, and his brother, AHMED ALVES, also known as “Stones,” 26, both of Waterbury, were sentenced today in Bridgeport federal court for offenses related to their participation in a violent street gang in Waterbury. U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley sentenced Ezra Alves to 252 months in prison and five years of supervised release, and Ahmed Alves to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Today’s announcement was made by Vanessa Roberts Avery, District Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Maureen T. Platt, District Attorney for the Judicial District of Waterbury; Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven Division; James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Boston Field Division; and Waterbury Police Chief Fernando C. Spagnolo.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to combat drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury, the FBI, ATF, and the Waterbury Police Department have been investigating multiple Waterbury-based groups, including the 960 Gang. On September 14, 2021, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 36-count indictment charging Ezra Alves, Ahmed Alves, and 14 other 960 Gang members with racketeering, drug trafficking, weapons possession, murder, attempted murder and assault, and obstruction of justice.

On March 20, 2024, Ezra Alves pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, three counts of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, two counts of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of narcotics.

Alves admitted that he and 960 other members were involved in drug trafficking and violent activities, and that they conspired to shoot and kill members of rival gangs.

• On September 21, 2018, Ezra Alves and 960 other members participated in a drive-by shooting at an occupied home on Scott Road in Waterbury, in retaliation for the murder of a fellow member.
• On October 6, 2018, Ezra Alves and other gang members attempted to kill individuals believed to be members of a rival gang in a drive-by shooting, injuring one person.
• On November 18, 2018, Ezra Alves and other gang members participated in a drive-by shooting on rival gang members, killing two people.

Ezra Alves has been in custody since November 15, 2019.

On March 12, 2024, Ahmed Alves pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and one count of accessory after the fact. Alves admitted that he trafficked drugs in furtherance of the 960 enterprise. He also admitted that after the gang-related shooting that occurred on November 18, 2018, he picked up 960 members who participated in the shooting in a stolen car and drove them to a 960 member’s residence where they hid firearms. Later, 960 members drove the stolen car and abandoned it in Meriden, and Ahmed Alves picked them up again.

Ahmed Alves, who was arrested on September 16, 2021, has been released on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to report to jail on October 7.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Waterbury Police Department, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service, with assistance from the Southington Police Department, Watertown Police Department, New Milford Police Department, Connecticut State Police, Connecticut Department of Correction, Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, and the DEA Laboratory. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey M. Stone, John T. Pierpont, Jr., and Natasha M. Freismuth, and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don E. Therkildesen, Jr., and Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Arroyo of the Waterbury State’s Attorney’s Office, who have been cross-designated as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys on this case.

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

PSN is a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crimes and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a Violent Crime Reduction Strategy to strengthen PSN based on these core principles: building trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from happening in the first place, setting targeted and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/psn.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.