Skip to main content
Press Release

Felon Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Possessing Loaded Rifle

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MANUEL A. GOMEZ, 31, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 37 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 17, 2019, Gomez was involved in a one-car motor vehicle accident in East Hartford.  As East Hartford Police responded to the accident, Gomez ran from the scene.  He was apprehended after a short foot chase.  A subsequent search of Gomez’s vehicle revealed a loaded AM-15 .223 caliber rifle.

In 2008, Gomez was convicted in state court of two counts of assault in the first degree, on which he was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment, execution suspended after seven years.

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.

Gomez has been detained since his arrest.  On June 16, 2020, he pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the East Hartford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.

This prosecution has been brought through 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.

Updated October 28, 2020

Topics
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Firearms Offenses