Department of Justice

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTIAN BORRERO, 20, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 168 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing gunpoint robberies of convenience stores and an armed carjacking in 2022.

According to court documents and statements made in court, ATF and the New Haven Police Department investigated a series of gunpoint robberies and a carjacking that occurred in late June and early July 2022.  The investigation revealed that Borrero committed an armed robbery of a Citgo Gas Station located at 957 Foxon Road in East Haven on June 29, 2022; an armed carjacking followed by an armed robbery of a 7-Eleven Convenience Store located at 1089 Campbell Avenue in West Haven on July 3, 2022; and an armed robbery on an Xpress Mart Gas Station located at 180 Wakelee Avenue in Ansonia on July 7, 2022.  In addition, on July 6, 2022, Borrero and his associate, Robert Smith, committed an armed robbery of a Shell Gas Station located at 195 State Street in North Haven.

Borrero has been detained since July 13, 2022.  On January 3, 2024, he pleaded guilty to two counts of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

On September 28, 2023, Smith, of New Haven, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting Hobbs Act robbery and one count of aiding and abetting the carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  He awaits sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the assistance of the New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, Ansonia, and North Haven Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.

U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the State’s Attorneys for the Judicial Districts of New Haven and Ansonia/Milford for their cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.

The prosecution 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.