Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that, on March 5, 2020, a federal jury in New Haven found VASHUN LEWIS, also known as “V-Love,” 44, of New Haven, guilty of firearm possession offenses.

According to the evidence presented during a trial before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall, in 2017, the New Haven Police Department received information that Lewis was engaged in an illegal cigarette trafficking operation, was selling marijuana and heroin, and was known to possess a handgun. Prior to 2017, Lewis had been convicted of state robbery, assault, drug, weapon and racketeering offenses. Lewis was arrested on June 1, 2017, after a court-authorized search of his residence revealed a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, more than 100 grams of marijuana, items used to process and package drugs for street sale, and more than 50 cartons of cigarettes.

The jury found Lewis guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Judge Hall scheduled sentencing May 28, 2020, at which time Lewis faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life.

This investigation was conducted by the New Haven Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret M. Donovan and Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis.

This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

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