Man Sentenced In Portland Gun Dealership Burglary: Feds

PORTLAND, CT — A man who stole 14 guns from a Portland gun dealer has been sentenced to 100 months in prison, according to prosecutors. Christopher Matos, 34, of New Britain, will also serve three years of supervised release.

Mattos and Kenney Cotto burglarized Central Connecticut Arms and stole 14 guns on Dec. 31, 2020, according to prosecutors. Investigators searched an SUV that Matos and Cotto used during the burglary Jan. 5, 2021, and found clothing that Cotto wore during the burglary, a hammer and tire iron Matos and Cotto used to break in, and other evidence.

Matos was arrested Jan. 14, 2021.

Law enforcement has recovered three of the firearms stolen from Central Connecticut Arms. The FBI recovered two during an unrelated narcotics investigation, and Waterbury Police seized the third after it was fired into the air during an altercation. The remaining 11 firearms are unaccounted for.

A judge ordered Matos to pay $21,528.91 in restitution.

Matos’s criminal history includes seven felony convictions and, at the time of the burglary, he was on probation for a state theft offense.

Matos has been detained since his arrest. He pleaded guilty in March to theft of firearms from a licensee and unlawful possession of firearms by a felon.