New Haven Man Gets 7 Years Prison Bid On Firearm Conviction: Feds

NEW HAVEN, CT — A 43-year-old New Haven man who has a lengthy criminal history, records show, was sentenced to serve 7 years in a federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, the US Attorney said.

Jackie Brown will also serve a period of three years of supervision on his release from prison, according to US Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery.

According to Avery, court documents and statements made in court, on Oct. 7, 2021, Brown was involved in a car accident in New Haven. After a police officer saw him "attempting to hide an extended firearm magazine by sitting on top of it, Brown ran from the car, up the street, and through the backyard of a residence," she said. Another officer caught Brown minutes later, court records show. A search of Brown’s "path of travel" found a .40 caliber handgun, a loaded gun magazine, and two loose rounds of ammunition, per federal prosecutors.

"In an interview with officers, Brown admitted that he had discarded a firearm with a loaded magazine during the chase," a news release from the Justice Department reads. "Analysis of the extended magazine that was found in the car revealed that it contained 25 rounds of ammunition."

Brown has an extensive criminal history that includes seven drug-related felony convictions, and a conviction for attempted assault in the first degree, according to Avery and court records. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce, per federal prosecutors.

Brown, who has been detained since his arrest, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon in August 2022.

This investigation was conducted by the ATF and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Reed Durham through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program.