Morris Carter III, also known as “Mo,” was sentenced on April 17 to 156 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for firearm offenses and violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior conviction, according to David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The sentencing follows Carter’s involvement in a fight at a convenience store in Hartford on February 19, 2023. Surveillance footage showed Carter possessing a firearm and striking another person with a magazine, which ejected ammunition during the altercation. He then fled toward Wethersfield and threw two handguns out of his car window before being stopped by police who found a loaded magazine under the passenger seat. Later that morning, both discarded firearms were recovered by officers after being reported by a local resident.
Carter has remained detained since his arrest. A jury found him guilty on August 15, 2025, of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. His criminal record includes a previous federal conviction from 2013 related to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine; he was still under federal supervision when he committed these latest offenses.
Judge Kari A. Dooley sentenced Carter to serve 136 months for the firearms charges plus an additional consecutive term of 20 months for violating supervised release conditions.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with Hartford and Wethersfield Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Gentile and Sean P. Mahard prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut prosecutes federal crimes and manages civil cases within Connecticut while operating offices in New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport; it employs about 68 assistant attorneys and nearly as many support staff members according to its official website. The office is one of the oldest such prosecutorial offices in America, established in 1789 according to its official website. It serves all residents statewide while advancing justice initiatives designed to enhance quality of life according to its official website.
