Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
A Willimantic man has admitted to charges related to the theft of firearms and drug offenses. Kwitzpatrick Duffany, 37, pleaded guilty in New Haven federal court following the theft of 38 guns from a Newington store in 2023.
Court documents reveal that on May 27, 2023, Duffany entered Hoffman's Gun Store during non-business hours by climbing onto a balcony, cutting through siding with a knife, and dropping from the ceiling. Surveillance footage captured him filling duffel bags with guns before exiting through the same hole. Afterward, Duffany and two others went to Hartford, where he exchanged some stolen firearms for cash and drugs. He later sold most of the remaining guns for money or narcotics or provided them to others to sell.
Duffany was apprehended by Connecticut State Police in Ashford early on June 1, 2023. Nearby surveillance showed him hiding a satchel containing a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun and drugs shortly before his arrest. The gun was among those stolen from Hoffman's Gun Store.
Duffany faces one count of theft of firearms from a licensee, which carries up to ten years imprisonment, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, carrying up to twenty years imprisonment. Sentencing is set for April 28.
He has remained detained since his arrest.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Newington Police Department are investigating the case with assistance from Connecticut State Police and Willimantic Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Dearington is prosecuting.
Acting U.S. Attorney Marc H. Silverman expressed gratitude towards the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain for their cooperation in this matter.
