Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL WEINSTEIN, 28, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 65 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for a federal firearm offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in October 2020, law enforcement observed Facebook video posts of Weinstein firing a handgun at a Connecticut shooting range, and possessing ammunition. Specifically, on October 14, 2020, he possessed .40 caliber ammunition, manufactured by Speer in Idaho, at the shooting range. A subsequent court-authorized search of Weinstein’s cellphone revealed a photo and multiple videos of Weinstein handling additional firearms.

Weinstein’s criminal history includes convictions in state court for criminal possession of a gun, conspiracy to commit robbery in the third degree, and robbery in the first degree. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Weinstein was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on November 18, 2020. On July 23, 2021, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon.

Weinstein, who had been released on bond, has been detained since November 18, 2021, when he was arrested in New Haven and charged with state drug offenses.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor M. Reardon.

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.

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