Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that found TYRON HAMMOND, 31, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 126 months of imprisonment for illegally possessing a firearm, and for violating the conditions of his supervised releases from a previous federal conviction.

According to the evidence presented during a trial in August, on December 11, 2012, the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force, executing a state arrest warrant, arrested HAMMOND at an apartment on Chambers Street in New Haven.  A subsequent court-authorized search of the apartment revealed a fully-loaded .22 caliber revolver with one expended casing.

The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s Forensic Science Laboratory determined that HAMMOND’s DNA was on both the firearm and the ammunition.

HAMMOND’s criminal history includes a 2004 federal conviction for possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.  That conviction stemmed from an incident in November 2003 when HAMMOND shot and injured an individual with a .44 caliber revolver in the Farnam Court housing complex in New Haven.  HAMMOND was also convicted in state court of first degree assault in relation to the shooting.  In December 2004, HAMMOND was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 10 years of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  He was released from federal prison in July 2012.

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 August 28, 2013, a jury found HAMMOND guilty of possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon.  The ammunition was manufactured in Idaho, but the revolver was manufactured in Connecticut and could not be traced due to its age.

Judge Hall sentenced HAMMOND to 108 months of imprisonment for the illegal possession of ammunition, and a consecutive 18-month prison term for violating the terms and conditions of his supervised release from the 2004 conviction.

This matter was investigated Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Force, and the New Haven Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony E. Kaplan.

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