New Haven Gang Member Charged with Federal Firearm and Narcotics Offenses | USAO-CT

Leonard C. Boyle, acting US attorney for the borough of Connecticut, James Ferguson, special agent in charge of ATF Boston Field Division, and New Haven police chief Renee Dominguez announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has today indicted charges SHAVARIUS SMITH, 21, New Haven, with gun and drug offenses.

Court documents indicate that on October 8, 2021, at around 11:15 pm, New Haven police recovered a 9-millimeter “ghost gun” with a 31-round, high-capacity, heroin and cracked cocaine magazine from a parked one stolen vehicle that Smith had driven. Smith, a well-known member of the Bloods gang, was released from prison on September 2, 2021, was on probation, and wore a GPS ankle monitor as a condition of parole. The officers located Smith and arrested him a short time later.

It is alleged that Smith’s criminal history includes state convictions for theft and drug offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a crime to own a firearm or ammunition that has been moved in interstate or foreign trade.

The indictment charges Smith with the possession of ammunition by a felon with a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and possession for the purpose of distributing heroin and cocaine-based (“crack cocaine”), which has a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. has years.

Acting US Attorney Boyle stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are just accusations and the accused is presumed innocent unless there is no doubt that he is guilty.

Smith has been incarcerated since his arrest.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Haven Police Department. The case is being pursued by U.S. Assistant Attorney Maria del Pilar Gonzalez through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program and Project Longevity.

PSN, at the heart of the Department of Justice’s efforts to reduce violent crime, is an evidence-based program that has been shown to be effective in reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a wide range of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to resolve them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses its enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and works with local prevention and re-entry programs to reduce crime on a sustainable basis.

Project Longevity is a comprehensive gun violence reduction initiative in major Connecticut cities. Through Project Longevity, community members and law enforcement agencies directly connect with members of groups susceptible to violence, delivering a community message against violence, a message from law enforcement agencies about the consequences of further violence, and an offer of help for those who so wish .

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/new-haven-gang-member-charged-federal-firearm-and-narcotics-offenses