Four men from Norwalk, Connecticut, have been federally charged for their alleged involvement in a kidnapping and carjacking in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in August 2023.
A grand jury in Bridgeport returned a four-count indictment charging SAMUEL BRANCH, 27, also known as ‘Sosa’, GIOVANNI HUDSON, 34, DONTAE SCULLARK, 22, and WILLIAM HINTON, 22, all of Norwalk, with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life.
The indictment also charges BRANCH, HUDSON, and SCULLARK with kidnapping, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and with carjacking, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.
HUDSON is also charged with carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least seven years.
SCULLARK and HINTON were arrested on September 5, 2025, and are currently detained.
BRANCH and HUDSON, who are currently in state custody, are scheduled to be arraigned today.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
BRANCH is also charged in an unrelated indictment, returned in March 2025, with drug distribution and firearm possession offenses. He has been detained since September 2023.
This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, ATF, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the Norwalk Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Michael A. DeJoseph, who is cross-designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in this matter.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
The indictment charges BRANCH, HUDSON, SCULLARK, and HINTON with the following offenses: conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping, carjacking, and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The maximum penalties for the above-mentioned offenses are: conspiracy to commit kidnapping (life imprisonment), kidnapping (life imprisonment), carjacking (15 years imprisonment), and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (at least 7 years mandatory consecutive imprisonment).
Related Federal Cases
- Samuel Neathery, Armed Bank Robbery, Connecticut 2018 · Connecticut
- Samuel Douglas, Racketeering, Connecticut 2023 · Connecticut
- Harry Whitley, Gun Possession, Connecticut 2023 · Connecticut
- Harry Whitley, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Crime, Connecticut 2023 · Connecticut
- Scott Taylor, Bank Robbery, Connecticut 2016 · Connecticut
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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