BRIDGEPORT — A former New Haven man was sentenced Monday to 57 months in federal prison for obstruction of justice related to his involvement with the 960 gang, a violent street gang based in Waterbury.
James Graham, 25, also known as “Little Cuz,” received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley, who also imposed three years of supervised release.
The sentence will run concurrently with Graham’s existing 52-year state sentence for murder, robbery, and firearm offenses stemming from the November 13, 2017, murder of an 18-year-old victim in Hamden.
According to court documents, Graham was among 16 members of the 960 gang charged in a 36-count federal indictment returned on September 14, 2021.
The charges followed an investigation by the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police into drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury.
Evidence presented at trial showed that on October 19, 2019, Graham and fellow gang member Tahjay Love assaulted another inmate while in state custody, believing the inmate had reported Love’s involvement in a 2017 shooting to law enforcement.
That shooting, which occurred on November 22, 2017, resulted in the deaths of Clarence Lewis, 22, and Antonio Santos, 20, after 960 gang members shot at their vehicle at a Waterbury restaurant.
A jury found Graham guilty of obstruction of justice on February 14, 2024, while co-defendants Love, Zaekwon McDaniel, and Malik Bayon were convicted of offenses related to their gang participation and the deaths of Lewis and Santos.
The three co-defendants are awaiting sentencing.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Waterbury Police Department, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service, with assistance from multiple local and state agencies.
