New London Man Charged with Gun, Drug Offenses

NEW HAVEN, CT - The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced a New London man's federal grand jury indictment Tuesday.

James Bowers, 30, was charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to a release. The indictment was returned on July 20, and he appeared in court Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.

Bowers allegedly possessed a stolen .45 caliber handgun and marijuana that he intended to distribute on June 30. It is further alleged that, prior to that date, Bowers was convicted of state and federal felony offenses.

Bowers has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on June 30.

On Oct. 6, 2008, Bowers was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment and eight years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He was released from federal prison in Dec. 2014 and is currently on supervised release.

If convicted, Bowers faces a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment on the firearm charge and five years on the drug charge. He also faces additional imprisonment if he is found to have violated his supervised release.