Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that two former Danbury residents were sentenced today in federal court for firearm offenses. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer sentenced Darnell Macon, Sr, 46, to 18 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release, and Kharima Brooks, 24, to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to the evidence presented during their trial last year, on May 27, 2021, Macon and Brooks visited a federally licensed firearms dealer in Kent, where Macon possessed, and then Brooks purchased, a Smith & Wesson, Model SD40VE, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. In 2002, Macon was convicted in New York of two counts of assault in the first degree, and in 2003, he was convicted in New York of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

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.

On June 7, 2021, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents investigating the firearm purchase on May 27, 2021, and another firearm purchased by Brooks in Stratford on May 25, 2021, visited Macon’s and Brooks’ Danbury residence and recovered the two firearms, which were located in Macon’s bedroom closet.

On Oct. 31, 2022, Macon was found guilty of one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and Brooks was found guilty of one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The jury found Brooks not guilty of one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Macon and Brooks, who are released on bond and currently residing in Springfield, Massachusetts, are required to report to prison on Jan. 15, 2024.

This investigation was conducted by ATF, with the assistance of the Danbury Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Reed Durham and David J. Sheldon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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