HARTFORD – A 36-year-old Chicopee man has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for kidnapping and murdering Francisco Roman Jr., 28, also of Chicopee, three years ago, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for Connecticut.

Brandon Batiste was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 504 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery stated.

Batiste and Calvin Roberson kidnapped Roman at gunpoint from his residence in Chicopee on Dec. 24, 2020, according to court documents and statements made in court. They handcuffed Roman and stole cash, marijuana and other items from him before forcing him into the rear of his 2010 Acura ZDX and driving him and the stolen property to Connecticut.

Batiste shot and killed Roman while the car was en route to Hartford. They then drove the car to Shultas Place in Hartford and left it parked on the street. Shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 26, 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 in the rear of the vehicle.

Batiste has been detained since his arrest on Feb. 11, 2021. On June 30, 2023, 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 April 27 and is detained while awaiting sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, FBI’s Springfield Gang Task Force, Massachusetts State Police, Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division, Chicopee Police Department and Springfield Police Department, with the assistance of the Waterbury Police Department and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel M. Krull and Trial Attorney Brian P. Leaming of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.