The unbearable silence that has enveloped Yolanda Herring’s life since the death of her 16-year-old grandson, Maleak Sweets, speaks to the profound loss felt by a family and a community in New Haven, Connecticut. At a press conference held on May 21, 2025, at the New Haven Police Department headquarters, Police Chief David Zannelli announced the arrest of a 21-year-old Waterbury man in connection with the January 2024 killing of Sweets in the city’s Newhallville neighborhood. Standing alongside Mayor Justin Elicker, lead Detective Michael Haines, Sergeant Josh Kyle, and members of Sweets’ grieving family, Zannelli detailed the charges against the suspect: one count of murder and one count of carrying a pistol without a permit. The suspect, identified as Gabriyel Fraser, is being held on a $2 million bond and has not yet entered pleas.
Sweets, a New Haven native, was expecting his first child at the time of his death. That child, now just over a year old, will grow up without a father, a painful reality underscored by Mayor Elicker during the press conference. “Maleak, we love you and miss you always,” Herring said, her voice carrying the weight of a family’s grief. Elicker, addressing the public, called for an end to the violence that has claimed too many lives in the city, noting the all-too-familiar scene of yet another press conference about a murder arrest. “May today be the start of that process of getting some justice,” he said to Sweets’ family, urging the community to “put the guns down.”
The events leading to Sweets’ death unfolded on the evening of January 29, 2024, when New Haven police responded to a ShotSpotter alert and two 911 calls reporting gunfire on Newhall Street around 7:34 p.m. Officers arrived to find Sweets lying unconscious on the sidewalk, a gunshot wound to his chest. A white Kia Rio parked nearby bore bullet holes, and a single projectile was recovered at the scene. Despite being rushed to Yale New Haven Hospital, Sweets succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy conducted by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head, with the manner ruled a homicide. A .45 caliber bullet was recovered from Sweets’ body, a critical piece of evidence in the investigation.
Detective Haines, who led the investigation, outlined in an eight-page arrest warrant affidavit how meticulous police work led to Fraser’s arrest. The breakthrough came through a combination of witness interviews, license-plate-reading cameras in Bridgeport and New Haven, and cooperation from Waterbury police. Investigators traced a Ford Focus believed to be involved in the homicide to a residence on Ludlow Street in Waterbury. There, officers observed two individuals, one later identified as Fraser, inside the vehicle. As police approached, Fraser attempted to remove a fanny pack, which he placed on the passenger seat. Officers noticed the handle of a handgun protruding from the pack—a .45 caliber Glock 30, later confirmed as the likely weapon used in Sweets’ killing.
Further investigation revealed the motive behind the shooting. According to the affidavit, Fraser was in Newhallville on the day of the homicide to sell marijuana. A witness, in a voluntary interview, admitted that he and Sweets were in the area to rob the person delivering the drugs. Phone records, CashApp transactions, and Telegram messages between accounts named “Rambo Ebk” and “Get Fried” provided additional evidence. In one exchange, Fraser allegedly wrote to a friend that the person who arrived at the drug deal was not the one he had been communicating with online. “Its cool I ain’t worried about that shit,” he reportedly wrote. “I fired and they ain’t even get right so I’m coolin.”
The arrest marks a significant step toward justice for Sweets’ family, though it does little to fill the void left by his death. The case highlights the persistent challenge of gun violence in New Haven, a city that has seen its share of such tragedies. Elicker’s call to action resonates as a plea for systemic change, urging residents to reject the cycle of violence that continues to claim young lives. For Yolanda Herring and her family, the path to healing remains long, but the hope is that this arrest brings some measure of closure to a community mourning a young man taken too soon.