Sawed-Off Shotgun Lands Man 15 Years in Jail

A convicted felon who was involved in a high-speed pursuit with Monroe Police last year has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Kevin Mills, 23, of New Haven, was found unconscious in the vehicle with a sawed-off, 12-gauge shutgun between his legs after it . Mills is a convicted felon and therefore is prohibited from possessing a firearm — a jury found him guilty of that crime on Jan. 12.

Today, United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford sentenced Mills pursuant to the Armed Career Criminal Act, which requires a minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years for convicted felons who possess firearms or ammunition, and who have at least three prior felony convictions for serious drug offenses and/or crimes of violence. In all, the sentence is for 180 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. 

According to evidence presented during the trial, Mills, along with Carl S. Harvey Jr. — the driver — and two other individuals were arrested by Monroe Police in March of 2011. Mills was subsequently removed from the vehicle by the Monroe Fire Department, and he and the other occupants of the vehicle were taken to area hospitals for medical treatment.

In addition to the shotgun, a search of the car and other passengers also revealed a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and narcotics.        

Prior to March 2011, Mills and Harvey had sustained multiple felony convictions. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.        

On Jan. 3, 2012, Harvey pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. On April 18, he was sentenced to 41 months of imprisonment. The other two passengers in the car were convicted of state weapons and narcotics offenses.    

This case was investigated by the and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo and Assistant United States Attorney S. Dave Vatti. The state cases have been prosecuted by the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Bridgeport/Fairfield.