HARTFORD, CT — A previously convicted felon who was on parole was arrested after Hartford police said officers recovered a stolen, loaded handgun from a vehicle during an attempted traffic stop.
Shaheem Watkins, 31, was taken into custody July 24 after members of the Hartford Police Department's Street Crimes Unit received information that a person of interest in a recent shots-fired incident was driving south on Main Street, police said.
Police did not identify the shots-fired incident or say whether Watkins has been charged in connection with it.
According to police, officers spotted traffic violations and attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver did not comply with their signal.
Assisting officers deployed a tire-deflation device, and the vehicle stopped a short distance later near Columbus Boulevard and Talcott Street, police said.
During the investigation, officers found a CZ Model 82 9mm semi-automatic handgun on the vehicle's rear floorboard, according to police. The firearm had been reported stolen from Bloomfield.
Police also recovered a magazine containing eight live 9mm rounds.
Watkins, whom police described as a previously convicted felon who was on parole, was arrested without incident.
He was charged with improper display, operating a motor vehicle without a license, failure to obey an officer's signal, weapons in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a firearm, and theft of a firearm.
The charges are allegations, and Watkins is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Anyone with information about criminal activity in Hartford can contact the Hartford Police Department's anonymous tip line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).
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