Danbury man sentenced for illegal gun possession

A Danbury man was sentenced to more than two years in prison Monday for illegal firearm possession in Vermont, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Previously convicted of a felony, Tan Prazeres. 43, was caught with a gun in Bennington, Vt., on Feb. 10, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont said.

Bennington police officers were called to Main Street that day for a report of a man and woman suspected to have overdosed on drugs inside of a car. When an officer tapped on the driver’s side window, he saw a woman inside holding a glass pipe in her hand. The man seated in the passenger seat, later identified as Prazeres, was “struggling to remain conscious,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“Prazeres identified himself with a fake name and appeared to be under the influence of drugs,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Prazeres later got out of the car and was taken to a local hospital.

The next day, investigators obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and found a Raven .25-caliber pistol in a man’s jacket that covered the vehicle’s center console, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“The responding officer’s body-worn camera video footage showed Prazeres grabbing at the jacket that contained the firearm during Prazeres’ encounter with the police,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Prazeres pleaded guilty last December to unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show. On Monday, U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III sentenced Prazeres to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.