New Haven Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Gun Possession

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHAWN HILL, 32, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 72 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 December 12, 2012, ATF agents and New Haven Police officers executed a search warrant at a residence on Norton Street in New Haven where HILL had been residing.  As New Haven SWAT team members forced entry into the second floor apartment, HILL discarded a fully-loaded Sig Sauer, P229, .40 caliber pistol through a window in a bedroom where a 9-year-old child was sleeping.  The pistol was quickly recovered by law enforcement and HILL was arrested.

The firearm had been reported as stolen from Wilmington, N.C.

HILL’s criminal history includes numerous felony convictions.  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.

HILL has been detained since February 2013.  On June 22, 2015, as the evidence was about to begin in his trial, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.