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Press Release

New Haven Man Guilty of Gun Possession and Marijuana Distribution Offenses

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

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JAMIE MIDDLEBROOK, 20, of New Haven, has been convicted of firearm possession and drug trafficking offenses.

According to the evidence presented during a trial before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven, in the afternoon of November 1, 2019, New Haven Police detectives patrolling the area of Grand Avenue and Hamilton Street saw Middlebrook standing on a corner.  As the police cruiser approached Middlebrook, he ran through a parking lot.  During a pursuit, detectives observed Middlebrook duck down and place a firearm behind the tire of a pickup truck on the ground in the parking lot.  The firearm, a loaded SCCY CPX-1, 9mm pistol, was recovered, and Middlebrook was apprehended after a foot chase a few blocks away from the parking lot.  Investigators subsequently retrieved a bag that Middlebrook left on the corner where he was standing before he fled.  The bag contained approximately 19 grams of marijuana packaged for individual sale.

Middlebrook’s criminal history includes a state felony conviction, in 2018, for sale of a crack cocaine.  In November 2019, Middlebrook was serving two separate terms of conditional discharge stemming from state convictions.

Yesterday, the jury found Middlebrook guilty of one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and not guilty of one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Today, before the jury returned a verdict on the third count of the indictment, which charged Middlebrook with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Middlebrook pleaded guilty to the offense.

Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for April 6, 2020 at which time Middlebrook faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

This investigation was conducted by the New Haven Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maria del Pilar Gonzalez and Margaret M. Donovan.

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 January 9, 2020

Topics
Drug Trafficking
Firearms Offenses
Project Safe Neighborhoods