A man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for carjacking a woman in Bristol in 2021 and using her vehicle days later to crash through a gun store in Newington, where he stole nearly half a dozen handguns.
Troy Harris, 30, faced sentencing Tuesday in federal court in New Haven, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
In addition to five years behind bars, a judge ordered that Harris serve three years of supervised release and pay just over $36,000 in restitution, federal officials said.
According to authorities, Harris approached a woman in the parking lot of a supermarket in Bristol just after midnight on Sept. 5, 2021, and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at her. He demanded she get out of her car and give him the keys.
Federal officials said Harris threw the woman to the ground after she complied and left the area in her vehicle. The incident came on the heels of Harris absconding from parole, which he was serving in connection with a state-level conviction, according to federal authorities.
Two days after the carjacking, officials said Harris used the victim’s vehicle to crash through the entrance of Hoffman’s Guns for the Good Guys on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington in the early morning hours. He then entered the store and kicked out a display case, stealing five handguns before fleeing on foot.
Harris was arrested the next day and has been in custody since. His sentencing came after he pleaded guilty in July 2023 to theft of firearms from a licensee.
Federal officials said only one of the five firearms that were stolen has been recovered.
Charges related to the carjacking remain pending in the State Superior Court.
