Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division; and David Sundberg, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that MICHAEL SHERIDAN, 27, of Colchester, pleaded guilty today to illegal possession of a machinegun.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson occurred via videoconference.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Sheriden agreed with an associate who had manufactured a machinegun to deliver it to another individual who had purchased it. On Jan. 29, 2021, Sheriden transferred the machinegun to the purchaser in a parking lot in Cromwell.
Possession of a machinegun carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Sheriden is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford on Nov. 10, 2021.
This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Penobscot County (Maine) Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Donovan.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
