Convicted Felon From Enfield Pleads Guilty to Firearm Possession

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A convicted felon residing in Enfield pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with a 2019 fight outside a Hartford bar in which he produced a loaded handgun before being subdued by police, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Nathaniel Rodriguez, 24, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Dooley scheduled sentencing for April 22, 2020, at which time Rodriguez faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, Durham said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, around 2 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2019, Hartford police received reports of a fight outside of the Vanish Bar and Grille Club on Meadow Street in the city. After responding to the scene, a detective saw Rodriguez arguing with several individuals in an SUV, then producing a handgun. Police took Rodriguez into custody and recovered a loaded M&P Bodyguard .380 caliber handgun that he dropped on the ground. The gun had been reported stolen in Massachusetts in 2017, Durham said.

Rodriguez’s criminal history includes felony convictions in Massachusetts for firearms, assault, drug, and witness intimidation offenses. He has been detained since March 29, 2019, when he was arrested in Enfield in an unrelated case involving a shooting outside his Alden Avenue home, in which a man sustained a leg wound.