Accused Bridgeport Gang Member Sentenced To Prison: U.S. Attorney

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A Bridgeport 22-year-old man was sentenced last week to more than 22 years in federal prison for his role in a violent street gang and involvement in a 2019 murder and attempted murder of rival gang members, Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman and other federal officials announced.

Travon Jones, also known as "Budda," received a 270-month sentence followed by five years of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Jones, a member of the East End gang in Bridgeport, was convicted in December 2023 of conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, prosecutors said. The gang has members throughout the area and has been linked to multiple violent crimes, including narcotics trafficking and homicides, authorities said.

Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have been investigating several Bridgeport-based gangs involved in violent crimes, including the East End gang and its rival groups, such as the Original North End (O.N.E.) and Greene Homes Boyz (GHB/Hotz), officials said.

According to prosecutors, Jones and fellow gang member Tyrone Moore fatally shot Sean Warren, a member of O.N.E. also known as "Kujoe," on July 12, 2019. Jones also attempted to kill another rival gang member, Joshua Gilbert, on October 17, 2019. Authorities said Jones and his associates distributed heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, and Percocet pills, used and shared firearms, and celebrated their activities on social media.

Due to the level of gun violence Bridgeport was experiencing, the investigation commenced shortly before East End members shot and killed Myreke Kenion and shot and attempted to kill D’Andre Brown, both members and associates of the GHB/Hotz gang, on January 26, 2020. The next day, in retaliation for these shootings, GHB/Hotz and O.N.E. members attempted to kill East End gang members and associates in a brazen afternoon shooting in front of a state courthouse on Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport that resulted in four victims being shot while sitting inside a car.

Jones was initially detained on October 17, 2019, and pleaded guilty in August 2022 before later withdrawing his plea. A jury found him guilty following a trial in December 2023. Moore pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June 2023 to more than 20 years in prison.

The case was part of a broader federal investigation into gang-related violence in Bridgeport. Prosecutors said the probe has led to the convictions of 47 individuals and has resolved eight homicides and 20 attempted murders.

The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies, including the FBI’s Safe Streets and Violent Crimes Task Forces, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, and local law enforcement.

The prosecution was part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, Project Longevity, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces programs, which aim to reduce violent crime through targeted law enforcement efforts and community engagement, officials said.