New Haven Man Who Brandished Gun Outside Nightclub Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDWARD FULTON, 34, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning hours of March 12, 2016, a New Haven Police detective working an extra duty assignment at a nightclub on Hamilton Street observed FULTON outside the club pointing a handgun at a group of people shortly after the club had closed for the evening. The detective drew his service revolver and ordered FULTON to drop his weapon, at which time FULTON put the gun in his sweatshirt and kept walking. The detective ordered FULTON to stop, FULTON eventually complied and the firearm was seized.

The firearm, a Cobra nine millimeter derringer, was cocked and loaded with two rounds of ammunition. It had been reported stolen in New Haven in 2015.

FULTON’s criminal history includes multiple felony convictions for robbery and firearm 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.

FULTON has been detained since his arrest on March 12, 2016. On March 13, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.

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