Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RONDELL CHAMBERS, 32, of Vernon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 17, 2020, Hartford Police stopped a vehicle in which Chambers was a passenger in order to arrest Chambers on outstanding warrants. When Chambers stepped out of the vehicle, he dropped a satchel containing a loaded Bersa Firestorm .40 caliber pistol. Chambers was arrested and the firearm was seized.
Chambers’ criminal history includes multiple state felony convictions for drug and gun offenses. 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.
On May 27, 2022, Chambers pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.
Chambers, who is released on a $150,000 bond, is required to report to prison on November 11.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena L. Coronado and David Sheldon through 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.