Bridgeport Felon Pleads Guilty To Illegal Gun Possession: Feds

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 33-year-old Bridgeport man pleaded guilty in federal court this week to a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, announced United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery, and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division.

Rahshim Carter, a three-time felon, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport. Carter is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 9, 2023, at which time he faces a maximum prison term of 10 years.

According to court documents and statements, in January 2013, Carter was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release for distributing heroin in and around the Trumbull Gardens housing complex in Bridgeport. He was released from prison in September 2013.

Early the next year, Carter was arrested by Bridgeport Police after he was found in possession of a loaded .380 caliber handgun and heroin that he intended to sell. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and, on January 30, 2015, was sentenced in Hartford federal court to 62 months in prison, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

In November 2016, while Carter was incarcerated in a federal prison in New Hampshire, he was found in possession of a homemade weapon (referred to as a "shank") and a quantity of Suboxone, a controlled substance. He was charged in the District of New Hampshire, pleaded guilty and, on January 22, 2018, was sentenced to an additional 18 months in prison. He was released from prison in March 2020.

On April 20, 2022, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police Department sought to arrest Carter for violating his supervised release. He was located and arrested in an apartment in the Green Homes Housing Complex in Bridgeport, and at the time of his arrest, he had a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.

Carter has been detained since his arrest.

From the Avery/Ferguson announcement:

This investigation has been conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force, Connecticut State Police and Bridgeport Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.