A Waterbury gang member admitted to his role in the death of an innocent bystander and the paralysis of a second person during a 2018 drive-by shooting, federal officials said.
D’Andre Burrus, also known as “Dopeman,” 30, pled guilty in Bridgeport federal court on Monday to one count of racketeering conspiracy stemming from his participation in the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
On Sept. 14, 2021, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging Burrus and 15 other alleged 960 gang members with racketeering, narcotics trafficking, firearm possession, murder, attempted murder and assault, and obstruction of justice following an investigation by the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police Department into multiple Waterbury-based gangs.
Burrus admitted that he trafficked heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine for the 960 enterprise and said he conspired to murder kill members of a rival gang on Oct. 11, 2018, which resulted in the death of 30-year-old Fransua Guzman and the paralysis of a second victim, officials said. Burrus was reportedly in one of two cars 960 members used when the victims were shot, according to court records.
Burrus has been detained since his arrest on February 19, 2019. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley on June 7, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Burrus faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
