Malik Bayon, Racketeering, Connecticut 2025

Malik Bayon, Racketeering, Connecticut 2025

Waterbury, Connecticut - Malik Bayon, also known as 'Pop' and 'Dirt,' 29, was sentenced to life in prison and a mandatory five-year consecutive term of imprisonment for his involvement in the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang.

Malik Bayon, a Waterbury gang member, was sentenced to life in prison and a mandatory five-year consecutive term of imprisonment for his involvement in the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang. Bayon was found guilty of conspiracy to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity with special circumstances, murder in violation of the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering ('VCAR') statute, and two counts of causing death through the use of a firearm and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in an effort to address drug trafficking and related violence in Waterbury, the FBI, ATF, and Waterbury Police have been investigating multiple Waterbury-based groups, including the 960 gang. On September 14, 2021, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 36-count indictment charging Bayon and 15 other 960 gang members with various offenses, including racketeering, murder, attempted murder and assault, firearm possession, narcotics trafficking, and obstruction of justice offenses.

Bayon has been detained since his federal arrest on September 16, 2021. He was flushing fentanyl in a toilet at the time of his arrest, and a search of his residence revealed a firearm, an extended gun magazine and additional gun magazines, and ammunition.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI's Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Waterbury Police Department, ATF, and U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of the Southbury Police Department and the State's Attorney's Office for the Waterbury Judicial District.

Bayan's co-defendants, Zaekwon McDaniel and Tahjay Love, are awaiting sentencing. McDaniel was previously sentenced to life in prison and a mandatory 10-year consecutive term of imprisonment.

Bayon has been detained since his federal arrest on September 16, 2021 and was sentenced on February 14, 2024, however, the sentencing was appealed. Bayon was finally sentenced to life in prison and a mandatory five-year consecutive term of imprisonment on September 9, 2025 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/waterbury-gang-member-sentenced-life-federal-prison