Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRANDI WIGGINS, 36, of Hartford, formerly of Glastonbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven for a firearm trafficking offense.  Judge Meyer ordered Wiggins to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $3,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Wiggins came to the attention of the ATF after several firearms that she purchased in North Carolina were recovered in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.  The investigation revealed that, between April 2016 and November 2019, Wiggins purchased seven firearms in North Carolina.  She later sold the firearms at pawn shops and also through a website that specializes in firearm sales.

With the government’s consent, Judge Meyer sentenced Wiggins below the recommended sentencing guidelines range based on Wiggins’ extraordinary family circumstances, including her prior involvement in an abusive relationship with her former husband.

On August 18, 2022, Wiggins pleaded guilty to engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, a felony offense.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Keefe.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: Fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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