BRIDGEPORT, CT – Another Hartford street thug is off the streets. CHRISTOPHER GASKIN, 47, learned his lesson the hard way today, sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon illegally packing heat. U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill handed down the sentence in Bridgeport, bringing a small measure of relief to a city plagued by gun violence.
The bust went down on New Year’s Day, 2022. Hartford Police pulled over the vehicle Gaskin was driving on Irving Street. A search of the suspect revealed a loaded .380 caliber handgun tucked away on his person. But the gun wasn’t all he was carrying. Officers also found a baggie containing approximately five grams of crack cocaine and 35 individual vials of the same, indicating a clear attempt to push poison onto the streets.
Gaskin isn’t exactly a stranger to the inside of a jail cell. His rap sheet is lengthy, riddled with felony convictions for assault, robbery, and even the lowlife act of witness tampering. Federal law makes it abundantly clear: once you’ve been convicted of a felony, you forfeit the right to possess firearms or ammunition that has crossed state lines – and this gun certainly did.
While a jury found Gaskin guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon on February 28, 2024, they acquitted him on the charge of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. But the gun charge alone was enough to put him away. This case wasn’t a slam dunk; the defense tried to muddy the waters, but the evidence was solid.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Hartford Police Department, demonstrating a united front against violent crime. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel M. Krull and Patricia Stolfi Collins prosecuted the case under the umbrella of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal program aimed at reducing gun violence through collaborative law enforcement and community engagement.
PSN isn’t just about arrests and convictions. It’s a broader strategy focusing on building trust with communities, supporting local organizations working to prevent violence, and strategically targeting the most dangerous offenders. The Justice Department launched a renewed effort in May 2021 to bolster PSN, and cases like Gaskin’s are a direct result of that commitment. For more information on Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit www.justice.gov/PSN. This conviction sends a message: Hartford’s streets will not be a playground for criminals.
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Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime|Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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