Bridgeport Gun Trafficker Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison

A Bridgeport man has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison for his role in trafficking guns into the city.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Brannon Winston, 24, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 40 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for firearm trafficking and possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Winston purchased firearms in Georgia, where he resided at times, and provided them to customers in Connecticut. Winston personally purchased at least 18 firearms in Georgia, and he had others purchase additional firearms on his behalf.

The investigation, which included gun recoveries after shooting incidents in Bridgeport, revealed that some of the firearms were provided to members of the East End and PT Barnum gangs in Bridgeport.

Winston’s crimes began to unravel when he was arrested by Bridgeport Police for possessing a .357 caliber handgun with a loaded high capacity magazine on December 21, 2022. The handgun had been purchased in Jonesboro, Georgia, on November 11, 2022, and ballistics analysis revealed that it had been used in a shooting in Bridgeport’s East Side the day before Winston’s arrest.

Winston has been detained in federal custody since January 3, 2023. On September 22, 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of crossing state lines with the intent to engage unlicensed dealing of firearms, and one count of receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Bridgeport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.

The PSN program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.

In a statement, Avery noted that the sentence sends a strong message that firearm trafficking will not be tolerated in Connecticut. ‘Today’s sentencing is a significant step forward in our efforts to combat gun violence in Bridgeport and throughout the state,’ she said.

Winston’s case is a prime example of the devastating consequences of gun trafficking in our communities. We urge anyone with information about firearms trafficking or other violent crimes to come forward and report it to the authorities.

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