On a spring afternoon in Brooklyn, New York, Felton Durant, a 23-year-old male, was fatally shot. The incident occurred on April 25, 2021, in front of 100 Centre Mall within the Red Hook Houses complex. Law enforcement sources indicated that three men approached Durant and engaged him in a conversation that escalated into a dispute. One of the men then opened fire, striking Durant multiple times in the torso, buttocks, and hand.
During the shooting, a 28-year-old man who was making a delivery nearby was grazed by a stray bullet. Emergency services transported Durant to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting, which police believed to be gang-related, led to federal charges against members of a drug trafficking organization. Two men, Danzel Mackins and Darrin Samuels, were charged with the murder of Felton Durant in connection with a drug trafficking dispute. Prosecutors stated that the shooting occurred in broad daylight in the middle of a busy public housing development. Along with Mackins and Samuels, two other individuals, Jamel Williams and Brandon Wilkins, were also arrested and charged for their alleged participation in the crack cocaine conspiracy.
The case proceeded through the federal court system, as the death penalty was a possibility for the murder charges. Ultimately, Danzel Mackins and Darrin Samuels were sentenced for their roles in the death of Felton Durant. Mackins was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while Samuels received a 20-year sentence. Both men were held responsible for the brutal killing that stemmed from a rival drug crew dispute. According to prosecutors, Mackins and Samuels, along with other members of their crew, had set out to find and kill the leader of a rival drug crew. They instead came across Durant, who was a member of the rival crew but not its leader, and he was shot and killed on sight.
