NEW BRITAIN, CT – Luis Javier Lopez, 24, is headed to federal prison for 42 months after a high-speed chase and subsequent arrest revealed his illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea handed down the sentence in Hartford yesterday, adding three years of supervised release to the term.
The case began February 26, 2022, when Hartford Police spotted a vehicle driven by Lopez, a car previously linked to two separate ‘shots fired’ incidents in the weeks leading up to the attempted stop. Lopez didn’t comply, leading officers on a pursuit that culminated in a crash on the Berlin Turnpike in Wethersfield after police deployed tire deflation devices. Undeterred, Lopez continued driving his disabled vehicle for miles before slamming into another car stopped at a red light.
Lopez immediately fled on foot, eventually being apprehended near a motel on Arrow Road. A search revealed a high-capacity magazine loaded with 16 rounds of 9mm ammunition on his person. Nearby, officers discovered a 9mm firearm located on the other side of a fence where Lopez had been running, along with two spent 9mm shell casings near his wrecked vehicle. Forensic analysis, utilizing the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), definitively connected the gun and casings to both previous shooting incidents.
This wasn’t Lopez’s first brush with the law. He had previously been convicted in state court of possession with intent to sell a controlled substance. That prior felony conviction made the current firearm possession charge a federal offense, as it is illegal for a convicted felon to possess firearms or ammunition that have crossed state lines.
Lopez has been held in custody since his arrest last year and pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition by a felon on February 16, 2023. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Hartford Police Department jointly investigated the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Angel M. Krull prosecuting the matter under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.
PSN, a cornerstone of the DOJ’s violent crime reduction strategy, focuses on targeting the most dangerous offenders and partnering with local programs to address the root causes of crime. This case serves as a clear message: those who illegally possess firearms, especially with a prior criminal record, will face serious federal consequences.
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