Man Sentenced For 2020 Kidnapping, Murder In Hartford: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — A Massachusetts man was sent to jail for 42 years in U.S. District Court in Hartford for kidnapping and murder, a crime ending with a holiday season car fire in Hartford in 2020.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said Brandon Batiste, also known as “B,” 36, last residing in Chicopee, Mass., was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 42 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for kidnapping and murdering a Massachusetts man in 2020.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Dec. 24, 2020, Batiste and Calvin Roberson, also known as “Cutty,” kidnapped Francisco Roman Jr., 28, at gunpoint from his residence in Chicopee, Mass.

Avery said Batiste and Roberson threatened to harm Roman if he did not comply with their orders, handcuffed him, and stole cash, marijuana, and other items from Roman.

She said Batiste and Roberson forced Roman into the rear of Roman’s 2010 Acura ZDX, and transported Roman and the other stolen property to Connecticut.

Authorities said Batiste shot and killed Roman while the car was en route to Hartford and they drove the car to Shultas Place in Hartford and left it parked on the street.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2020, Hartford police and fire personnel responded to Shultas Place and found the car engulfed in flames.

After the fire was extinguished, investigators discovered Roman’s body with multiple gunshot wounds, Avery said.

Batiste has been detained since his arrest on Feb. 11, 2021.

On June 30, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm.

Roberson pleaded guilty to the same charges on April 27 and is detained while awaiting sentencing.

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