Donell Allick, Jr. Racketeering, Murder, Connecticut 2022

Donell Allick, Jr., also known as ‘D-Nice,’ 25, of New Haven, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to a racketeering offense related to his participation in a violent New Haven street gang and the murder of an individual in September 2022.

The murder victim was identified as Kenneth Cloud, 46, who was shot on September 16, 2022, while sitting on the porch of an Atwater Street residence in New Haven. Allick and others shot Cloud, leaving him paralyzed. He died approximately three months later.

Allick’s guilty plea marks a significant development in a larger investigation into a gang war between members and associates of the Exit 8 street gang and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of New Haven.

The investigation, which involved the ATF, FBI, DEA, and New Haven Police Department, revealed that Allick and other members of the Exit 8 gang engaged in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders since June 2018.

As part of his guilty plea, Allick admitted that he and others promoted, coordinated, facilitated, and celebrated their narcotics distribution and acts of violence through text messaging and the use of social media applications and websites, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

Allick has been detained since his arrest on November 10, 2022, and faces a maximum term of imprisonment of life at sentencing, which has not been scheduled yet. He was previously sentenced to 115 months of imprisonment in a separate federal case on July 15, 2024.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale and Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis as part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Project Longevity, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) programs.

These programs aim to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. The investigation is ongoing, and further charges are possible.

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