Department of Justice

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TROY HARRIS, 28, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to a firearm offense stemming from a Newington gun store theft in September 2021.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on September 7, 2021, Harris drove a car through the entrance of Hoffman’s “Guns for the Good Guys,” a federal firearms licensee located in Newington, and stole two Kimber Micro 9 9mm semiautomatic pistols, two Kimber Pro Carry .45 ACP semiautomatic pistols, and one Kimber Super Match .45 ACP semiautomatic pistol.

Harris pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a licensee, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5.

Harris has been detained since his arrest on September 7, 2021.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Newington and Bristol Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.

PSN, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of New Britain for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.