Man 26, Gets 20 Years In Prison For Gang Activities, 2022 Murder: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — Donnell Allick Jr., 26, of New Haven, was sentenced in U.S. District Court Wednesday to 20 years in prison for his participation in a violent New Haven street gang and a murder in September 2022, according to Marc H. Silverman, Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.

Silverman said that in an effort to address violence in New Haven, the ATF, FBI, DEA and New Haven Police Department, working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, investigated a gang war between members and associates of the Exit 8 street gang and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of the city.

According to Justice, the Exit 8 gang, named after the geographic area accessed by exiting I-91 at exit 8 in New Haven, has recently had younger members of Exit 8 are identifying themselves with the word “Honcho,” which is derived from the street name of an Exit 8 member who was murdered on Quinnipiac Avenue in February 2020. The gang has been under local, state, and federal investigation for the past few years.

Silverman said the investigation revealed that Allick and other members of the Exit 8 gang engaged in drug trafficking, used and shared firearms, and, since June 2018, have committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders.

"Exit 8 members and associates also stole vehicles, at times from outside of the state, and used those stolen vehicles when committing acts of violence," a Justice Department news release reads. Gang members also 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, it's noted.

On August 1, 2024, Allick pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, including acts of violence, narcotics trafficking, and gun sales, and specifically admitted that, on September 16, 2022, he and others shot Kenneth Cloud, 46, who was sitting on the porch of an Atwater Street residence in New Haven.

The victim was paralyzed as a result of the shooting and died approximately three months later. Forty-three shell casings were found at the scene of the shooting, Silverman said. Ballistics analysis revealed that 19 had been fired from a handgun later found in Allick’s vehicle, and 24 had been fired from a handgun later found inside Allick’s residence, according to court records.

Allick has been detained since his arrest on November 10, 2022. On July 15, 2024, Judge Bolden sentenced him to 115 months of imprisonment in a separate federal case. Allick’s 240-month sentence will run concurrently with his 115-month sentence.

This investigation was conducted by the ATF, the FBI, the DEA, the New Haven Police Department, the Hamden Police Department, and the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis and Rahul Kale.

This prosecution was part of the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Longevity and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces programs.