Bailey
ANSONIA-DERBY – Daycus Bailey, who was involved in two Ansonia shootings and a Derby police chase, was sentenced to twelve years in prison on Friday (May 24).
He was sentenced on four charges stemming from three criminal cases.
Bailey, 41, has been incarcerated since January 2023, when he was arrested following a shootout in Ansonia in which he used a family’s SUV as cover while they were inside the vehicle.
On March 1, he pleaded guilty in each of the cases brought against him. The sentence he received –- twelve years’ incarceration, followed by fifteen years of probation -– includes all of his cases in the Valley.
Bailey previously spent seven years in prison for attempting to kill a man in Derby in 2009.
Judge Kevin Russo highlighted Bailey’s criminal history while handing down the sentence.
“You’ve got a criminal record that dates back to 1999 and continues to the present,” Russo said in court. “A collection of felonies – some of which, very serious in nature, some not so serious – but, all in all, given the violent nature of the events that you pled guilty to, and that prior criminal record, I do think that the agreement is fair and reasonable.”
Bailey’s lawyer, Benita Lee, said that Bailey did not start either of the shootouts. That statement is backed up in one of the shootings by a police report.
“It was just an unfair situation that my client seems to be the only one who is sitting in jail right now, while others are not,” Lee said.
Ansonia police said that Bailey hasn’t cooperated.
“His acts of violence have left physical and emotional scars on many citizens,” Police Chief Wayne Williams said in a written statement. “His incarceration will make this community a safer place to live and work. As for the acts of violence committed against Bailey, this agency has investigated those complaints fully, however Bailey’s refusal to cooperate has hampered the ability for this agency to bring charges against other suspects involved. Mr. Bailey can contact the investigators in his case at any time.”
Bailey, along with his attorney, appeared in court via video. He requested a remote appearance during his March court date, citing a gunshot wound that he is still recovering from.
He is also facing criminal charges stemming from separate 2022 incidents in New Haven and Waterbury. The state judicial website shows that Bailey was scheduled to be sentenced in each of those cases on May 24 as well.
Details from police reports in each Valley case are below.
Gatison Park Shootout
Bailey pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a firearm in connection to a June 30, 2022 incident in Ansonia.
On that date, at around 5 p.m., Bailey was at Gatison Park near Third Street, according to an arrest warrant. A gray car pulled up near the park. A man got out of that car and, with his hand around a gun hidden inside a canvas bag, began firing at Bailey.
Bailey fired back, and was shot in the head and abdomen. Witnesses stated that they heard at least ten shots.
While police found Bailey’s shooting to be in self-defense, they said he is not allowed to possess a gun because he’s a convicted felon.
The car believed to have been used by the shooter was found three days later in Bridgeport, riddled with bullet holes and engulfed in flames. Police were unable to identify the shooter.
Bailey told them that he“has people wanting to kill him and will do what he has to protect himself,” according to the warrant.
Downtown Ansonia Shootout
On Dec. 29, 2022, a mother and her two adult children got into a Kia SUV at around 3:30 p.m. after picking up an order at Empanadas Restaurant on Bridge Street in Ansonia.
As they were about to drive away, a man later identified as Bailey ran up to the car. Leaning on the passenger door, he fired several shots from a handgun toward a Jaguar sports car on the street.
Three shots from Bailey’s gun grazed the roof of the Kia. The family was not injured. Two bullets hit nearby businesses. The person in the Jaguar appeared to have fired at Bailey, according to police who reviewed video footage of the incident.
There was another man with Bailey, according to an arrest warrant, but that man did not fire a weapon and isn’t identified in the warrant. Bailey and the other man then ran away toward Main Street.
On Main Street, Bailey threw his gun in the air, and it landed on the roof of E’s Cut and Style. He ran inside the building and discarded some of his clothes, which officers later recovered. Then, he ran back out, and a friend picked him up in a Ford F‑150 in front of Ansonia City Hall, according to the warrant.
Police identified Bailey as the shooter after interviewing a witness and reviewing surveillance footage.
Court records show Bailey was charged with five crimes from the December 2022 shooting. He’s pleaded guilty to one: first degree attempted assault.
Ansonia police said in March that they are still searching for the other people involved in the two shootouts. Lt. Patrick Lynch said police believe both incidents were drug-related, but that Bailey has not cooperated with police.
Anyone with information on the cases should call Ansonia police at 203 735 1885. Anonymous tips can be left using this link.
Derby Police Chase
Bailey pleaded guilty to engaging police in pursuit and resisting arrest in connection to a Sept. 1, 2021 incident in Derby.
According to a police report, cops suspected Bailey of conducting a drug deal on the corner of Anson Street and Fifth Street at about 3:15 p.m.
Derby police stopped his car on Maple Street, but Bailey took off, according to court documents. He drove slowly at first, according to a warrant, but drove past several stop signs without stopping.
Derby police ended the chase when Bailey crossed the town line into Ansonia. His parole officer was notified, and Bailey was charged in Derby on Oct. 4, 2021.
Parole Violation
In 2011, Bailey admitted in court he was part of a group that purchased a white Ford Crown Victoria in 2009 and used it to ram a motorist who was leaving a business on Chapel Street in Derby. Bailey and his cohorts then shot the man during the ambush.
The victim survived, and had been targeted as part of a series of connected shootings that plagued Derby, Ansonia and New Haven in 2009.
Bailey pleaded guilty to attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree assault, and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
He received a 20-year sentence, that was to be suspended after serving 10 years. Bailey was released on parole in 2018, after serving about seven years.
Given all the criminal charges, authorities also hit him with violating the terms of his parole, to which Bailey also pleaded guilty on March 1.
Bailey will receive credit for time served since his arrest in 2023.
