Charles Barnes, Gun Possession with Loaded Firearm, CT 2023

Stamford’s Charles Barnes, 35, is headed to federal prison for more than five years after being caught with a loaded Beretta 9 millimeter pistol in his car last December. The conviction, handed down by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford, lands Barnes behind bars for 63 months — a sentence that reflects the severity of arming himself despite a violent criminal past.

The arrest unfolded on December 29, 2015, when Stamford Police pulled over the vehicle Barnes was driving. What started as a routine traffic stop turned explosive when officers searched the car and found the loaded handgun stashed in the glove box — chambered with 12 live rounds. Alongside the weapon, they uncovered 16 individual bags of marijuana, clearly packaged for street sale, deepening the criminal profile building against him.

Barnes wasn’t just holding a gun — he was violating federal law in plain sight. Prior convictions for possession of marijuana with intent to sell and two counts of felony assault in second degree disqualified him from possessing any firearm or ammunition that had crossed state lines. That’s exactly what federal prosecutors hammered home: a violent felon, already flagged by the system, choosing to carry a loaded weapon through Connecticut streets.

He’s been locked up since the day he was stopped. No bail, no second chance. On November 17, 2016, Barnes pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon — a charge that carries steep penalties under federal statute. His guilty plea didn’t spare him from the full weight of the law, but it did cut short a trial that could’ve exposed even darker chapters of his history.

The investigation was a joint push by the Stamford Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — a partnership built to root out illegal weapons in high-crime areas. Their collaboration turned a traffic stop into a federal case, showcasing how local enforcement can escalate into long-term incarceration under federal gun laws.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito prosecuted the case, pushing for accountability in a city where gun violence remains a persistent threat. With three years of supervised release waiting for him after prison, Barnes will re-enter society under the watchful eye of the justice system — if he chooses to stay clean. For now, his choices have cost him more than half a decade of freedom.