Top inset: D’Andre Burrus (WFSB/YouTube). Bottom inset: Fransua Guzman (WTIC/YouTube). Background: The location in Waterbury, Connecticut, where Guzman was shot (WFSB/YouTube).
A 30-year-old Connecticut gang member who admitted to his role in a 2018 drive-by shooting that killed an innocent mother of four and paralyzed her friend was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.
D’Andre Burrus learned his fate Tuesday in the gang violence that claimed the life of Fransua Guzman, 30, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced in a news release.
Burrus pleaded guilty in March to racketeering conspiracy and admitted that he trafficked heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine in furtherance of the so-called 960 gang enterprise, prosecutors said. He also admitted that he conspired to murder members of a rival gang in retaliation for the murder of a fellow 960 member.
Guzman was killed at 3 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2018, by members of the 960s. They were on the hunt for “Ops” — slang for rival gang members — to avenge the death of one of their own, according to local news website Republican American. The gang members got into a black minivan and a stolen Hyundai after rapping, drinking and “getting violent” at a recording studio, police said a witness told investigators, the newspaper said.
They went to Walnut Avenue, where two 960s fired at a person they thought was a rival but struck Guzman and her friend, Darlene Mazon, instead. The gang flashed cash and snapped selfies in a McDonald’s parking lot afterward, rapping to “Take A Ride Through the Avenue,” the newspaper reported.
Guzman died at a hospital from a gunshot wound to the head. Mazon survived but was left paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Burrus and 15 other gang members were charged in a 36-count indictment in 2021.
“I’m just happy they were caught,” Mazon told the Republican American through tears after police announced they cracked the case. “I suffer every day. I just want them to pay for what they did.”
Guzman’s obituary said that the Puerto Rican native graduated from high school and became a certified nurse’s aide.
“During her short time on earth, Fransua attended to the needs of others as a home health aide,” the obituary said. “Fransua leaves to cherish her memory her four children; Jarielene, Maximiliano, Michael and Noah her mother Arlene Cintron of Orlando and her sister Jacqueline Morales.”
The murder was preceded by shootings that started in October 2017, according to the indictment. In one case in December 2017, gang members shot and wounded someone they thought was the father of a rival. In two incidents in September 2018, gang members shot at the homes of suspected rivals.
In October 2019, gangsters assaulted someone they thought was informing on the gang to law enforcement, court documents said.
Court papers describe the gang’s origins in 2008 as a local street gang in Waterbury’s Long Hill Project area. Over time, the gang evolved to “1920” before settling on its current name. The gang communicates through Facebook, phone calls, text messages and music videos. They communicate with gang symbols and code words to avoid revealing their criminal activity. They are expected to protect the gang’s name, reputation, and status from rival gang members and other persons, court filings say.
“To protect the gang and enhance its reputation, 960 members and associates are expected to use any means necessary to force respect from those who have shown disrespect, including committing acts of intimidation, violence, and threats of violence,” court documents said.
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