Waterbury Felon Admits Possessing Handgun While on Federal Supervised Release

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DESI WILLIAMS, 39, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and while he was on supervised release following a prior federal conviction for the same offense.

Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the afternoon of January 28, 2019, Waterbury Police officers attempted to stop a car Williams was driving at the intersection of Brass Mill Drive and Union Street for motor vehicle violations.  When an officer approached the car on foot, Williams accelerated and fled from the scene.  During a subsequent pursuit, Williams rammed three police vehicles before crashing his car into a utility pole on Walnut Street.  Williams ran from the car, jumped over a fence and was eventually apprehended on Ives Street.  A search of Williams’s car revealed a loaded Smith & Wesson .22 caliber revolver.

In 2016, Williams was convicted in federal court of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and he was on federal supervised release in January 2019.  Prior to 2016, Williams was convicted in state court of felony robbery, burglary and failure to appear offenses.

When he is sentenced, Williams faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and additional penalties for violating the conditions of his supervised release.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

Williams has been detained since January 28, 2019.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Waterbury Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter D. Markle and Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis.

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.