Newington Gun Store Burglar Sent To Prison: Feds

NEWINGTON/WILLIMANTIC, CT — The ex-Willimantic man who robbed a Newington gun store of several firearms has been sent to a federal prison.

Marc H. Silverman, acting U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said Tuesday that Kwitzpatrick Duffany, 37, formerly of Willimantic, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford to nine years of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for offenses related to his theft of 38 firearms from a Newington gun store in 2023.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 27, 2023, during non-business hours, Duffany entered Hoffman’s Gun Store in Newington by climbing onto the balcony over the main entrance, cutting into the siding with a knife, and dropping down from the ceiling.

Silverman said surveillance footage showed Duffany walking through the store and filling duffel bags with 38 guns.

He then exited the store through the same hole, officials said.

After stealing the guns, Duffany and two other individuals traveled to Hartford, where Duffany traded several of the stolen guns for cash and drugs, according to authorities.

In the following days, Duffany sold most of the remaining guns in exchange for cash and narcotics, or he provided guns to other individuals to sell, Silverman said.

Duffany was arrested by the Connecticut State Police in Ashford in the early morning of June 1, 2023.

Surveillance footage from a nearby gas station showed Duffany hiding a satchel in a soda display case shortly before his arrest, according to Silverman.

Investigators recovered the satchel and found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun and drugs inside the bag, and the gun had been stolen from Hoffman’s Gun Store, he said.

To date, law enforcement has recovered only six of the stolen guns, including one that was recovered by Hartford police during an investigation of a homicide that occurred on July 5, 2024, according to officials

Duffany has been detained since his arrest.

On Feb. 3, he pleaded guilty to theft of firearms from a licensee and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

For more information on the case, click on this link.