Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Teejay Johnson, 38, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a firearm. Johnson must also serve the first six months of his supervised release in home detention.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 9, 2022, members of the New Haven Police Department Shooting Task Force and other law enforcement officers executed a state search warrant at Johnson’s residence. Johnson was found coming out of the bathroom after narcotics had been flushed down the toilet.  Investigators collected samples of narcotics from the bathroom, and found in other areas of the residence fentanyl and other narcotics, marijuana, more than $8,600 in cash and a loaded .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine and 16 rounds of ammunition.

Johnson’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for firearm and assault related offenses. 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.

Johnson has been detained since his federal arrest on April 21, 2022. On Aug. 28, 2023, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia King through 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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