New Haven Man Sentenced to More Than 9 Years in Federal Prison for Robbery and Gun Offenses

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHAQUILLE RICHARDSON, 25, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 117 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for robbery and firearm offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 30, 2016, at approximately 1:41 a.m., New Haven Police officers were dispatched to Ferry Street after a report that a person had been shot.  At the scene, officers found two victims.  One victim had been shot in the left elbow and was bleeding heavily, and the other victim was bleeding from the nose. 

The investigation, which has included witness interviews, DNA evidence, ballistics evidence and footage from a surveillance video, revealed that Richardson and Thomas Johnson attacked the two victims after they exited a convenience store in an attempt to steal marijuana and money from the victims.  Johnson shot one of the victims in his elbow and Richardson struck the other victim in the face with a gun.

Officers apprehended Richardson near the scene of the robbery.  When Richardson was found, he was bleeding from a gash to his hand where one of the victims had slashed him with a knife in self-defense.  Johnson was arrested on July 28, 2016, during a motor vehicle stop.  At the time of his arrest, Johnson possessed the firearm he used during the robbery.

Richardson has been detained since his arrest.  On January 31, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Johnson, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to related charges on April 4, 2018.  On October 11, 2018, he was sentenced to 156 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the New Haven Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter D. Markle and Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis.