Man gets 8 years in prison for stolen gun, crack

A New Haven man was sentenced Wednesday to more than eight years in prison after police found a stolen gun and almost 3 grams of crack cocaine in his home while he was on supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Robbie Smith, 34, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, or crack, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a news release Wednesday. Smith also admitted that he violated the terms of his supervised release.

In federal court in Bridgeport Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden ordered Smith to serve 100 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The U.S. attorney’s office said Bolden had previously sentenced Smith in July 2016 for his participation in a narcotics trafficking organization that distributed heroin and crack cocaine throughout New Haven. At that time, Smith was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was then released from prison in May 2018.

During Smith’s supervised release, police received a tip in December 2018 that Smith had a gun and was involved in a shooting incident. Officers raided Smith’s apartment on Dec. 28, 2018, and seized a loaded revolver, 2.8 grams of crack cocaine and drug packaging materials, according to federal court documents.

The revolver had been reported stolen out of Madison, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Since Smith has been convicted of a felony in the past, it is illegal for him to have a handgun.

Smith has been detained since his arrest, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.