AUG 16 - NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging James Bowers, 30, of New London, with one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
The indictment was returned on July 20, 2016. Bowers appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. It is alleged that on June 30, 2016, Bowers possessed a stolen.45 caliber handgun and marijuana that he intended to distribute. It is further alleged that, prior to that date, Bowers was convicted of state and federal felony offenses. Bowers has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on June 30. On October 6, 2008, Bowers was sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Haven to 120 months of imprisonment and eight years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He was released from federal prison in December 2014 and is currently on supervised release.
If convicted of the charges, Bowers faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on the firearm charge and a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on the drug charge. He also faces an additional term of imprisonment if he is found to have violated his supervised release. This case has been assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford. U.S. Attorney Daly stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force-East, which includes members from the Norwich, Groton City and New London Police Departments.
