Hartford Man Sentenced to More Than 3 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Sawed-Off Shotgun

Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEVIN BARCO, 37, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 39 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a sawed-off shotgun.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 6, 2018, Hartford Police encountered Barco sitting in a car that was parked on Albany Avenue.  A subsequent search of the car revealed a Harrington and Richardson, Model 176, 10 gauge shotgun with a sawed-off barrel.  Eight shotgun shells were also found in the car.

Barco’s criminal history includes state convictions for felony weapon, robbery, larceny and escape offenses.  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.

On July 17, 2020, Barco pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Barco, who is released on $50,000 bond, is required to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on October 1 to begin serving his sentence.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN 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.