United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Project Safe Neighborhoods: NEW HAVEN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGE

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TAJI HOWARD, 30, formerly of Winchester Avenue in New Haven, pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 16, 2010, HOWARD sold a Raven .25 caliber handgun to an individual who was working with law enforcement.

HOWARD has previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses, including a federal firearms offense.  On September 11, 2000, HOWARD was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Hartford to 70 months of imprisonment for illegally possessing a .40 caliber rifle.  At the time, HOWARD was a convicted felon and he used the rifle to commit a robbery in the area of Saltonstall Avenue in New Haven in October 1999.

It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

HOWARD has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 7, 2010.

HOWARD is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill on November 5, 2010, at which time HOWARD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Haven Police Department pursuant to the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher M. Mattei.

The Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, and improving the safety of residents of Connecticut’s cities. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov