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Hartford Thug ‘Mo’ Carter Faces Decades for Gun Assault
BRIDGEPORT, CT – Morris Carter III, a 36-year-old Hartford resident known on the streets as “Mo,” has been found guilty of multiple firearm offenses following a brutal assault caught on camera. A federal jury in Bridgeport delivered the verdict today, bringing a potential end to Carter’s reign of terror and signaling a win for law enforcement battling escalating gun violence in the region.
The evidence presented at trial painted a grim picture. In the early hours of February 19, 2023, Carter engaged in a physical altercation inside a convenience store in Hartford’s south end. Surveillance footage revealed Carter not only participating in the fight but escalating it by wielding a firearm and repeatedly striking a patron in the head with a magazine, ejecting live ammunition in the process. The victim’s condition following the attack was not immediately released, but sources confirm injuries were sustained.
Carter didn’t stop at the assault. He fled the scene in his vehicle, driving towards Wethersfield, where he callously discarded two handguns out the window. Alert Wethersfield Police officers quickly intercepted the vehicle on Nott Street, discovering a loaded magazine stashed under the passenger seat. A subsequent search, prompted by a concerned resident, unearthed both of the tossed firearms, along with additional magazines and ammunition, near the end of a driveway.
This wasn’t Carter’s first brush with the law. Records show a prior federal conviction in 2013 for conspiracy to distribute and possess crack cocaine. As a convicted felon, Carter was already prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition that had crossed state lines – a fact he clearly disregarded. Adding insult to injury, Carter was on federal supervised release at the time of this latest offense, guaranteeing additional penalties for violating the terms of his release.
The jury found Carter guilty on two counts: unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, which could add another five years to his potential prison term. With his criminal history and the brazen nature of this crime, federal prosecutors are expected to push for the maximum penalty.
The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hartford Police Department, and the Wethersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Gentile and Sean P. Mahard are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide initiative focused on reducing gun violence. Carter has been held in custody since February 19, 2023, awaiting his sentencing. More information on PSN can be found at www.justice.gov/psn.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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