Hartford Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Gun Offense Stemming from April 2022 Shootout

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that KEJUAN WILLIAMS, 30, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for a firearm offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 18, 2022, after an unidentified shooter opened fire at individuals who were standing in a parking lot outside of a memorial gathering in Hartford, surveillance cameras at the location recorded at least nine individuals drawing firearms, and some of them returned fire.  Shot Spotter technology recorded approximately 50 shots fired within approximately 90 seconds in and around the location, and law enforcement recovered at least 31 shell casings from the scene.  Williams was present at the memorial gathering and was recorded on video brandishing a handgun and firing approximately eight times at the fleeing assailant.  He then fled the scene in a black Acura.

On April 21, 2022, Hartford Police officers located Williams’ car parked near a restaurant on Westland Street.  Williams was found inside the restaurant crouching behind a counter.  Officers apprehended Williams and seized a loaded Taurus G2C 9mm handgun on the ground where Williams had been crouching.  Investigators subsequently submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) a test-fired shell casing from the seized handgun.  Analysis of the shell casing revealed that it matched shell casings that were recovered from the shooting on April 18.

Williams’ criminal history includes multiple felony convictions, including a conviction in 2015 for carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit.  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.

Williams has been detained since his federal arrest on May 12, 2022.  On January 25, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Hartford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the Hartford State Attorney’s Offices for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.

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.