New Haven Man, 34, Gets 8-Year Prison For Gun Possession: US Attorney

NEW HAVEN, CT —Maurice "Mo" Menafee, 34, of New Haven was sentenced to serve seven years in federal prison for firearm possession, prosecutors said.

Described as a felon, by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Menafee was sentenced in U.S. District Court and following his 86-month sentence, will serve three years of supervised release.

According to the Justice Department, court documents and statements made in court, on the morning of Feb. 9, 2022, members of the DEA New Haven Task Force and the New Haven Police Department Shooting Task Force saw a car involved in suspected drug transactions at the intersection of Baldwin Street and Davenport Avenue in New Haven. They then saw the car driving "recklessly at high rate of speed throughout the city." Investigators later found the car at a Plymouth Street house and identified the driver as Menafee, the U.S. Attonrey for CT said.

After Menafee was arrested, he and his car were searched, authorities said, and they found $564 in cash, a Sig Sauer P238 .380 caliber pistol, 64 baggies of crack cocaine, and 116 wax folds of fentanyl, federal prosecutors said.

Menafee’s criminal history includes state firearm and drug convictions, court records show. 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.

Menafee has been detained since his federal arrest on March 2, 2022. On January 10, 2023, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine E. Boyles and Nathaniel J. Gentile.