PD: Danbury Chili’s shooting has ties to January 2019 shooting
DANBURY — The teen accused of firing a gun during a fight outside Chili's Grill & Bar earlier this month is the brother of a young man charged in connection with a shooting near Danbury Hospital a few years ago, according to police.
Recently unsealed court documents identified the 16-year-old arrested in the March 5 shooting outside the Newtown Road restaurant. Hearst Connecticut Media is withholding his name because he is a minor.
According to the warrant for teen's arrest, his older brother, Jaylen “Mula” Reeves, was charged in the January 2019 shooting that put Danbury Hospital and several schools on lockdown for hours and injured a young man.
Police say there have been a number of violent incidents in Danbury linked to that January 2019 shooting — including the recent altercation at Chili's.
Danbury police responded to a report of shots fired at the restaurant around 7 p.m. March 5, and learned a dispute between two groups of patrons spilled out into the restaurant's parking lot, where someone pulled a gun and fired a couple of shots.
Police said no one was injured, and the suspects fled prior to officers' arrival.
A witness at the scene told police her 20year-old and 16-year-old sons were the “intended targets of the assault,” and said the altercation was related to ongoing issues between two groups — one of which include her sons' friends. They are related to the person Reeves is accused of shooting in January 2019.
She told police her family was at Chili's celebrating a relative's birthday when they saw 21-year-old Kenaas Council — who hangs out with a group her sons' friends are feuding with — inside the restaurant and he started “making hand gestures consistent with gang signs” and “instigating” her two sons.
The 16-year-old charged in the shooting and three others joined Council at the restaurant a short time later and started harassing the family — at which point a man stood in front of the 20-year-old and 16-year-old son to block the accused shooter from attacking them, according to police.
Their mother told police the accused shooter had a knife.
A man with the family said two of his coworkers happened to also be at Chili's, saw what was going on and chased the suspects out of the restaurant, according to the arrest warrant.
The man started following them outside but stopped at the front door and heard two gunshots, according to the warrant. He said the first shot was fired in the direction of his coworkers and the second was fired into the air.
Though he did not see a gun, he told police there appeared to be smoke coming from the right front pocket area of the shooter's sweatshirt.
After that, police were told the suspects fled the scene.
Through witness interviews, physical evidence and anonymous tips, police determined the 16-year-old fired the gun and arrested him March 11, charging him with attempt to commit first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree threatening and two counts of second-degree breach of peace.
Not guilty pleas have been entered for all six charges against the teen, who was released from custody after posting a $100,000 professional surety bond.
On March 12, Council was arrested for his involvement in the Chili's altercation and charged with second-degree breach of peace and second-degree threatening. He was released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond and is next scheduled to appear in court April 12.
History of conflict
The day before the Chili's incident, the accused shooter and the 16-year-old son were involved in a fight at Danbury High School and issued a juvenile summons for breach of peace, according to the warrant.
The accused shooter had also been arrested at school on Feb. 8 and March 1 for fighting at school. Police were familiar with him from a November 2018 incident at Broadview Middle School when he and a friend were accused of creating a Snapchat video of them waving handguns around, according to the warrant.
According to the mother of the 20-year-old and 16-year-old at Chili's, the issues between her sons' friends and Council and the suspect's friends date back to the January 2019 shooting in the area of Hospital and Ellsworth avenues — the victim of which she said was a relative of theirs.
Police identified Jaylen Reeves as the shooter and arrested him a month later on firstdegree assault, carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal discharge of a firearm, firstdegree reckless endangerment and seconddegree breach of peace charges.
He pleaded not guilty to all five charges and is out of custody, awaiting trial, on a $75,000 professional surety bond, according to court records.
Since the January 2019 shooting, police said there have been a number of violent incidents involving members of the two groups — identified as YDC and ATC — including the driveby shooting that killed 18-year-old Yhameek Johnson last June.
Elvis Agramonte, 17, was charged with murder following Johnson's death, which police say was connected to the March 2020 fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Willy Plasencia at the Danbury City Center Skate Park.
Police identified Agramonte as a member of ATC and said at least one of the individuals arrested in connection with Plasencia's death was a member of YDC. A remote hearing is scheduled for his case on May 23.