May 8, 2014

Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Two Semi-Automatic Rifles

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that Edwin Carter, 51, of Hartford, pleaded guilty yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 6, 2013, members of the Hartford Police Department’s Special Operations Group and Shooting Task Force executed a court authorized search of Carter’s Plainfield Street residence and recovered an FNH PS90 5.7x28 caliber assault rifle with a high capacity magazine containing 15 live rounds and one Sarko SAR-I (AK-47) 7.62x39 caliber assault rifle with two high capacity magazines, one containing 27 live rounds and the other containing 26 live rounds.

The FNH PS90 assault rifle had been reported stolen out of East Hartford.

Prior to November 2013, Carter had sustained three felony convictions in the Connecticut Superior Court, including convictions for assault, weapons in a motor vehicle and possession of narcotics. 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.

Carter has been detained since his arrest on November 26, 2013.

Judge Hall scheduled sentencing for August 18, 2014, at which time Carter faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police, and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.