Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYRELL COX-HENDERSON, 28, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to approximately 29 months of imprisonment, time already served, and three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a firearm. Cox-Henderson will serve his first three months of supervised release in home confinement.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 10, 2019, Cox-Henderson entered a convenience store in New Haven and placed a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver behind some merchandise on a shelf. Approximately one hour later, Allen Lusmat entered the store and retrieved the firearm from the shelf. Later that day, after New Haven police officers had reviewed the convenience store’s surveillance video, officers stopped a car in which Lusmat was a passenger. As officers approached the vehicle, Lusmat threw a black plastic bag out of the window. A search of bag revealed the firearm that Lusmat retrieved from the store.
Cox-Henderson’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for burglary in the third degree, possession of a weapon or a dangerous instrument in a correctional facility, and conspiracy to commit robbery in the third degree. 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.
Cox-Henderson has been detained since April 10, 2019. On September 14, 2020, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.
Lusmat, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty to the same offense and, on August 12, 2021, was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.
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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