Bridgeport Man Sentenced In Federal Illegal Gun Possession Case

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 31-year-old Bridgeport man was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery this week.

Kimani Williams was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford. Williams has been in custody since his April 2022 arrest, and pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in November 2023.

According to court documents and statements, on April 7, 2022, after Bridgeport police conducted a search of Williams, his home and his vehicle, officers later stopped a vehicle in which Williams was a passenger.

"As officers removed Williams from the vehicle, a loaded Smith and Wesson .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol fell to the ground," Avery said in a statement. "Two loaded handguns were also discovered in the vehicle’s glovebox."

Because of Williams' criminal history, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm. His criminal history includes felony convictions in Connecticut and New York for criminal possession of a weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon, and assault of public safety or emergency personnel.

From Avery's statement:

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth L. Gresham and Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis.

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.