On a cold afternoon in New Haven, Connecticut, on January 20, 2014, the life of a 20-year-old Black / African American male named Durrell Patrick Law was tragically cut short. Law was in the parking lot of the Fairways Apartments on Eastern Street when he was shot in the chest around 1 p.m. He stumbled into the street where a passer-by in a vehicle stopped and tried to help him, but his injury was too severe. When police arrived, they found Law, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was the city's first homicide victim of the year.
Durrell, a father to a young son, was remembered by friends and family as a good man who enjoyed goofing around. He had been an active athlete in high school, participating in sports like track and football. His family, deeply grieving their loss, urged anyone with information to come forward to assist the police in their investigation. The investigation into his death would continue for more than two years before any significant breaks in the case were announced.
In June 2016, the New Haven Police Department announced that they had made four arrests in connection with Law's death, which they determined occurred during a robbery. The individuals charged were 24-year-old Joel Alexander and three juveniles. The charges brought against them included felony murder, murder, first-degree robbery, and firearms crimes. Alexander was a convicted felon at the time of his arrest. One of the suspects, Damarquis Gray, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, went to trial. In October 2018, a jury found Gray not guilty of murder but guilty of felony murder, as well as attempted first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, and carrying a pistol without a permit. The distinction in the verdict meant the jury concluded that Law was killed during the commission of another crime, the attempted robbery, rather than a premeditated intent to kill.
