Bridgeport Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Stolen Firearms

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL MURPHY, 27, of Bridgeport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling numerous firearms that had been stolen from the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant in Springfield, Mass.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 8, 2012, Elliot Perez, a truck driver for Pace Motor Lines, picked up five boxes of firearms from the Smith & Wesson manufacturing plant in Springfield and placed the boxes in his truck.  At the same time, Perez stole three additional boxes containing a total of 111 firearms.  He then drove the truck containing all the firearms to his residence in Bridgeport where he met MURPHY.  Shortly thereafter, Perez delivered the original five boxes of firearms to the trucking company’s distribution center in Stratford.

Perez and MURPHY stored and ultimately sold many of the stolen guns.  More than 50 of the stolen firearms have not been recovered by law enforcement.

Perez and MURPHY were originally arrested by the Stratford Police Department on state firearms charges.  MURPHY has been in custody since his federal arrest on November 30, 2012.

On December 12, 2013, MURPHY pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms, and one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Perez has been in custody since his state arrest on November 23, 2012.  On February 11, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess and sell stolen firearms, one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and one count of making a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer.  On October 27, 2015, he was sentenced to 210 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Stratford Police Department and the Bridgeport Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.