Bridgeport Felon Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHANNON CALHOUN, 49, of Bridgeport, was sentenced via videoconference by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegal possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 22, 2019, Calhoun was subject to a state parole compliance check at his Bridgeport residence.  After a parole officer found a plastic bag containing marijuana in Calhoun’s bedroom, the parole officer contacted the Bridgeport Police Department to assist with the compliance check.  The continued search of Calhoun’s bedroom revealed a loaded .40 caliber handgun and a coffee bean grinder containing heroin residue.

Calhoun’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for sale of narcotics, assault in the first degree, larceny in the second degree, weapon in a motor vehicle; burglary in the third degree, carrying a dangerous weapon, possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a weapon, and failure to appear.

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

Calhoun has been detained since his arrest on May 22, 2019.  On November 3, 2020, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Bridgeport Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.

This prosecution has been brought though Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.