New Haven Man Involved in Woodbridge Gun Shop Burglary Sentenced to 105 Months in Federal Prison

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL HENDERSON, also known as “Silly,” 26, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 105 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a Woodbridge gun shop burglary in 2015.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 17, 2015, at approximately 3:08 a.m., Woodbridge Police responded to a business alarm at Woodbridge Firearms Trading Post LLC, located on Selden Road in Woodbridge.  When officers arrived, they found a car crashed through the front door of the business, but no individuals were in the vicinity of the store.  Four firearms – two .38 caliber handguns, one .32 caliber handgun and one 9mm handgun – were taken from a glass case in the store.  The car had been reported stolen from New Haven on June 15, 2015. 

The investigation revealed that HENDERSON, Eric Lewis-Joyner and others committed the burglary.  HENDERSON’s fingerprint was found on a bottle of cologne that was inside the car, and his DNA was found on the car’s passenger-side door handle.  In the days following the robbery, HENDERSON tried to acquire .32 caliber and .38 caliber ammunition.

The day after the burglary, an unrelated court-authorized search of Eric Lewis-Joyner’s residence in Hamden revealed the stolen 9mm firearm.  Investigators also subsequently recovered from the residence items that Joyner wore during the burglary.  The three other stolen firearms have not been recovered.

HENDERSON has been detained since his federal arrest on October 30, 2015.  While detained, HENDERSON made threats against an ATF special agent investigating this matter, the U.S. magistrate judge who signed HENDERSON’s criminal complaint, and a witness in this case.  He also assaulted a guard at the detention center where he is being held.  The guard suffered a concussion from the assault.

On July 14, 2016, HENDERSON pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to the ATF.  On October 4, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of theft of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer, one count of possession of a stolen firearm, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Judge Bolden ordered HENDERSON to pay restitution in the amount of $52,225.80.

On February 10, 2016, Lewis-Joyner pleaded guilty to one count of burglarizing a federally licensed firearms dealer.  On May 23, 2016, he was sentenced to 33 months of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and restitution of $52,225.80.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Connecticut State Police and the Woodbridge, New Haven and Hamden Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.