Jury Finds Bridgeport Man Guilty of Illegally Possessing Loaded Firearm

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal jury in Hartford has found Federico Cannon, also known as “Rico,” 30, of Bridgeport, guilty of one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a previously convicted felon. The trial before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny began on May 20 and the jury returned the verdict today.

According to the trial evidence, at approximately 1:15 a.m. on February 25, 2012, Bridgeport Police stopped a vehicle in which Cannon was a passenger on Caroline Street in Bridgeport. Cannon initially exited the vehicle and attempted to walk away, but police ordered him back into the car. After directing the driver out of the vehicle, a Bridgeport Police detective observed a semi-automatic pistol on the floor of the rear passenger area in the vicinity of where Cannon was sitting. The firearm was a Smith & Wesson 9mm model 469 loaded with 10 live, hollow-point cartridges and two full-metal jacket cartridges.

Prior to February 25, 2012, Cannon had sustained felony drug, firearms, and burglary convictions, including a 2006 federal conviction for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a previously convicted felon. The evidence at trial in the previous federal case revealed that in the early morning hours of October 21, 2004, Cannon was in a car with three other individuals driving northbound on Interstate 95 between Norwalk and Bridgeport when they initiated a confrontation with another car occupied by two men. The confrontation culminated at the bottom of the Exit 25 ramp in Bridgeport when approximately seven or eight shots were fired at the victims’ vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle in which Cannon was a passenger revealed a semi-automatic pistol at Cannon’s feet in the right rear passenger seat of the vehicle. The jury found Cannon guilty, and, on April 12, 2006, he was sentenced to 42 months of imprisonment.

Judge Chatigny has scheduled sentencing for August 14, 2013, at which time Cannon faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.