NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Another member of New Haven’s violent Exit 8 gang pleaded guilty to a racketeering offense in the city on Thursday, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Twenty-five-year-old New Haven resident Donell “D-Nice” Allick, Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity that included violent acts, trafficking drugs, gun sales, and participating in the murder of 46-year-old Kenneth Cloud on Sept. 16, 2022, prosecutors said.
Allick was previously sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison on July 15 in a separate federal case.
Over the past several months, multiple members of the Exit 8 gang have pleaded guilty to racketeering offenses related to the gang’s violent and illegal acts. Several members of the gang have also been sentenced.
Named after the geographic area that can be accessed after exiting Interstate 91 in New Haven at Exit 8, the gang has earned a notorious reputation.
Court documents and statements show that the ATF, FBI, DEA and New Haven Police Department are collaborating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office to address violence in the city, and the Exit 8 gang has been prominently featured in their investigations.
According to the release, law enforcement has been investigating a gang war between Exit 8 gang members and associates and rival gangs in the Hill section and other areas of New Haven.
Prosecutors said that Allick and other Exit 8 gang members trafficked drugs and used and shared firearms, while the gang has committed at least three murders and 16 attempted murders since June 2018.
Members of the gang additionally stole vehicles, some from out of state, and used them to commit acts of violence, according to prosecutors.
“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,” the release said.
On Sept. 16, 2022, Allick was among the Exit 8 gang members who shot Cloud on the porch of an Atwater Street residence in New Haven, prosecutors said. The shooting paralyzed Cloud, who died around three months later. Forty-three shell casings were reportedly found at the site of the shooting.
“Ballistics analysis revealed that 19 (shots) 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,” the release said.
Allick’s sentencing is not scheduled, but when he is sentenced, he faces a maximum term of life in prison. Prosecutors said Allick has been detained since being arrested on Nov. 10, 2022.
The prosecution is part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Longevity and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces program, take different steps to curb violence and make neighborhoods safer for everybody.
RELATED: Another Exit 8 gang member from New Haven admits to role in murder, pleads guilty to racketeering
RELATED: ‘Jae Honcho’ of New Haven’s violent Exit 8 gang is sentenced to more than 15 years in prison
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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