New London Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Gun Offense
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that SHAQUAN SAUNDERS, also known as “Sosa Da Billy,” 28, of Uncasville, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 40 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 7, 2020, New London Police officers investigating a string of shootings conducted a court-authorized search of a car that Saunders had occupied and recovered a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a spent .45 caliber shell casing, and a live .380 caliber round. Subsequent forensic analysis of the handgun revealed the presence of Saunders’ DNA, and additional analysis of the firearm and recovered shell casing via the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) connected them to a shooting incident that occurred on Blydenburg Avenue in New London on August 5, 2020.
Saunders’ criminal history includes multiple felony convictions.
Saunders has been detained since September 21, 2020. On April 4, 2023, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New London Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth through the Justice’s Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.
PSN is 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.
