Stratford man challenges denial of CT gun permit over drug conviction

BRIDGEPORT — A Stratford plumbing contractor is being barred from getting his gun permit because of a misdemeanor drug conviction he got as a teenager in New York 15 years ago.

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether a misdemeanor arrest in another state should be used to prevent a state resident with no other criminal record from being eligible for a pistol permit.

“This case could have a wide-ranging effect not only on the eligibility for legal gun ownership but on whether misdemeanor convictions in other states can be used to enhance criminal cases here,” said local lawyer Christian Young, who represents Anthony Leo. “I believe this is the first time a judge has taken it upon himself to reinterpret the law to deprive someone of his constitutional right to legally possess a firearm.”

According to court records, in 2006, Leo was living in New York when he was pulled over there. A police officer officer subsequently found Leo in possession of 2.5 grams of ketamine, a powerful anesthetic. Leo later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor — possession of a controlled substance — and was given no jail time.

In May 2016, Leo applied to the Stratford

Police Department for a state pistol permit. The department denied his application in April 2017, because of Leo’s 2006 conviction in N.Y. They stated that the N.Y. conviction was equivalent to a Connecticut misdemeanor charge that automatically precluded eligibility for a pistol permit.

Leo appealed the denial to the state Board of Firearms Permit Examiners which in 2018 ordered that he be granted a pistol permit. The Stratford Police Department appealed that ruling.

Attorney General William Tong wrote an argument supporting the board’s decision.

“The board reversed the Town’s decision to deny Leo a permit on the basis that his conviction in New York is an automatic disqualifier. Leo made a mistake in 2006. Since then, Leo’s life has changed. The Board found Leo to be credible and reversed the Town's decision. The Board moves for dismissal of the Town’s appeal based on the aforementioned reasons,” Tong wrote.

But in 2019, Superior Court Judge John Cordani ruled that the firearms board had abused its discretion and Leo should be barred from getting the permit because of his 2006 N.Y. conviction.

“The board did not consider the legislative intent, the danger posed by providing pistol permits to persons known to abuse controlled substances,” the judge ruled.

The lawyer for the Stratford Police Department, Alfred Bruno, supports the lower court decision in his legal argument to the Supreme Court. He did not return calls and emails for comment.

“The defendant in this matter exhibited and committed the exact same behavior in New York state that would result in a disqualifying conviction in Connecticut,” Bruno argued. “That the conduct happened just over the border does not change its character. The clear intent of the legislature in passing (the state statute) was to prevent individuals who engaged in a certain type of behavior from possessing a pistol.”

Young said following his conviction, Leo went on to graduate from college, get married and raise a family. While living in Pennsylvania, Young said Leo was able to get a pistol permit there. He said Leo now runs his own plumbing company in Stratford.

“The town of Stratford is the first town in the state that is seeking to apply equivalency to a misdemeanor statute in another state when it comes to granting pistol permits,” said Young. “The town of Stratford has chosen to read the statute as being equivalent even though there is nothing in the statute that states it should be equivalent.”