A Connecticut man has received a life sentence after he was found guilty of multiple offenses including attempted murder and racketeering related to his role in a violent Waterbury street gang.
Zarkwon McDaniel, also known as “Gap” and “Yung Gap,” 27, of Waterbury, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to life in prison and a mandatory 10-year consecutive term of imprisonment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In an effort to address drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury, the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police Department launched an investigation into multiple Waterbury-based gangs.
A federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 36-count indictment on Sept. 14, 2021, charging McDaniel and 15 other members of the 960 gang with charges including racketeering, murder, attempted murder, assault, firearm possession, narcotics trafficking and obstruction of justice, court records show.
According to the evidence presented during McDaniel’s trial, investigators alleged that 960 members were involved in a drive-by shooting on Oct. 31, 2017, in the area of Porter Street and Bank Street in Waterbury in an attempt to kill members of a rival gang. Court records show that an individual was shot and wounded in the shooting.
Investigators reportedly recovered 17 shell casings from four different firearms at the scene and identified the car used by the shooters. According to court records, McDaniel’s DNA was found on the steering wheel of the car.
On November. 22, 2017, McDaniel and 960 members Malik Bayon and Tahjay Love reportedly shot at 22-year-old Clarence Lewis, 22, and 20-year-old Antonio Santos, who were in a car at a Waterbury restaurant. Investigators say Lewis fled from the scene at a high rate of speed and crashed into a house at the intersection of Wolcott Street and Dallas Avenue. Lewis and Santos were pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigators.
Investigators tied shell casings from two of firearms used during the shooting to the shooting on Oct. 31, 2017, and McDaniel’s DNA was reportedly found on a gun magazine dropped at the restaurant, court records show.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2017, McDaniel reportedly shot the father of a rival gang member who was taking out the trash in front of his residence. According to investigators, 960 members videoed themselves wearing masks at the scene minutes before the shooting.
Investigators also noted that McDaniel and other 960 members made rap videos “that glorified gang violence, firearm possession, and drug dealing. Many of the rap lyrics were tied to criminal conduct committed by 960 members.”
McDaniel has been detained since Jan. 3, 2018.
On Feb. 14, 2024, a jury found McDaniel, Love and Bayon guilty of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity with special circumstances, murder in violation of the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering statute, and two counts of causing death through the use of a firearm and in relation to a crime of violence, according to court records.
Court records show that the jury also found McDaniel guilty of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and carrying and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Love was additionally found guilty of obstruction of justice, and Bayon was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Love and Bayon are awaiting sentencing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
