Stratford Man Sentenced For Gun Trafficking Offense: Feds

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford man has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for a gun trafficking offense, according to officials.

Eskavail Gordon, also known as “Vail,” was also sentenced Thursday to three years of supervised release following the prison term, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 26, 2023, Stefan Bagley, Jr. was shot and wounded while traveling in his vehicle in Bridgeport. Later that same day, Bagley’s vehicle was used in another shooting incident in Bridgeport, according to authorities.

Authorities said an investigation found that, between October 2022 and October 2023, Bagley purchased approximately 20 9mm handguns from licensed firearm dealers and then trafficked the guns to a network of customers, including Gordon.

“Bagley typically scratched the serial numbers off of the firearms before providing them to his customers, making the guns more difficult to trace,” officials wrote in a news release. “During the investigation, a search of Bagley’s text messages revealed communications with Gordon in which the two discussed Bagley purchasing a Glock handgun for Gordon. Gordon then paid Bagley $750 for the gun.”

Gordon was arrested on Dec. 18, 2023, and investigators seized a 9mm firearm from Gordon on the date of his arrest.

“Gordon was previously convicted in state court of possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and he was on state probation at the time of his criminal conduct in this case,” officials wrote. “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.”

Gordon pleaded guilty on May 20 to receipt of a trafficked firearm. He has been detained since his arrest.

Bagley pleaded guilty to a related charge and awaits sentencing.

Most of the firearms trafficked by Bagley are unaccounted for, according to officials.