Justin Cabrera, Attempted Murder, Connecticut 2021

Waterbury, CT – Justin Cabrera, also known as “J.U.,” a 25-year-old Waterbury resident, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. Cabrera was part of the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang, and was charged alongside 15 other alleged gang members with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, firearm possession, murder, attempted murder and assault, and obstruction of justice offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 31, 2017, 960 members shot and wounded an individual in an attempt to murder members of a rival gang. Cabrera admitted that he operated one of the vehicles used in the shooting. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and one count of carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

The investigation into the 960 gang has been ongoing since 2021, with the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police working together to address drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury. Cabrera has been detained since September 16, 2021, and faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. Sentencing is scheduled for December 9.

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 in this matter.

This prosecution is part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs. The PSN program brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

The OCDETF program identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

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