Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANGEL RODRIGUEZ-MENDEZ, 25, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegal possession of an unregistered sawed-off rifle.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Rodriguez-Mendez was arrested on August 26, 2020, after a court-authorized search of his residence on East Street in New Haven revealed a loaded sawed-off rifle, a loaded handgun, ammunition, approximately 37 wax folds containing a mixture of heroin and cocaine, and approximately 74 grams of cocaine. Rodriguez also possessed approximately 20 grams of cocaine on his person.
On November 10, 2021, Rodriguez-Mendez pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.
Rodriguez-Mendez, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on June 28.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration and New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Gresham.
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.