New Haven Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Charge Related to Gun Trafficking Scheme
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, today announced that QUINN MOORING, 40, of New Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday via videoconference before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2021, ATF Task Force officers learned that Mooring was receiving firearms from a source in South Carolina and selling them in Connecticut. On April 19, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of a 9mm Glock handgun and a drum magazine from Mooring and a co-conspirator in New Haven in exchange for $1,500. The firearm was one of five 9mm handguns that had been purchased by an individual at a pawn shop in Port Royal, South Carolina, in the month prior to the transaction in Connecticut.
On April 22, 2021, investigators made a controlled purchase of 9mm ammunition from Mooring in New Haven.
Mooring’s criminal history includes state convictions for felony robbery, unlawful restraint and failure to appear 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.
Mooring was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on June 14, 2021.
The offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Mooring is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), West Haven Police Department and New Haven Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Konstantin Lantsman.
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 work 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.
