Glastonbury Man Charged In Connection With Large Federal Gun Seizure

GLASTONBURY, CT — An investigation that began with a bizarre sequence in a hotel hallway has led to the the arrest of a Glastonbury man on a federal gun offense and a Thursday court appearance.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Ferguson, special agent in charge, with the ATF Boston Field Division, announced Friday that Andrew Payne, 40, of Glastonbury, has been charged by a federal criminal complaint with unlawfully possessing a firearm while being a user of a controlled substance.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an ATF investigation identified Payne as a possible purchaser of machine gun conversion devices. In March 2023, investigators interviewed Payne and explained that these devices were illegal under federal law, Avery said.

Payne arranged through his attorney to turn in to ATF all of the illegal devices he claimed he had in his possession, Avery said.

According to case records, in the early morning hours of last Nov. 29, Hartford Police responded to a hotel on Brainard Road after hotel employees found a firearm in a hallway. A hotel employee then stated that the guest who possessed the firearm, identified as Payne, had been acting erratically and crawling on the hallway floor, according to case records.

During a search of Payne’s room, police found used hypodermic needles and "other evidence of drug use," and the investigation revealed that the firearm was registered to Payne. Payne was charged with state offenses and was ordered to surrender his firearms to a Federal Firearms Licensee, Avery said.

In addition, his state pistol permit was revoked, she added.

According to case records, on March 18, Simsbury Police arrested Payne for violating the conditions of his release after it was determined that Payne had access to numerous firearms, firearm components, and firearm manufacturing equipment found in two units of a business complex at 2 Tunxis Road in the Tariffville section of Simsbury.

Investigators conducted searches of the locations on March 19 and March 20, and seized these items, which included machine gun conversion devices that ATF had advised Payne were illegal to possess, Avery said.

Payne had also represented in court after his November 2023 arrest that he did not have access to firearms, Avery said.

A search of Payne’s vehicle also revealed glassine envelopes containing suspected fentanyl, empty glassine envelopes, and used hypodermic needles, Avery said.

Payne, who was released after his arrest on March 18, has been detained in state custody since March 20, when he was arrested after arriving at 2 Tunxis Road while investigators were executing a search warrant.

Payne made his initial appearance in Hartford federal court on Thursday.

The charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm while being a user of a controlled substance carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years imprisonment.