Violent Henderson Felon Sentenced to Almost Four Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Gun

EVANSVILLE-Daniel Matthew Connell, 28, of Henderson, Kentucky, has been sentenced to 47 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on January 22, 2024, Daniel Connell was a passenger in a vehicle Indiana State Police troopers stopped for a traffic violation. Troopers observed a syringe in the center console. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, troopers found a loaded, .40 caliber handgun under the front passenger seat where Connell was seated. Troopers located a live .40 caliber round of ammunition in his pants pocket during a pat-down search, the same size and manufacturer as the rounds loaded in the seized handgun.

Connell was arrested for possession of the syringe and illegal possession of a firearm and held in the Vanderburgh County Jail. While he was detained, Connell used recorded jail phone lines to make calls in which he openly admitted to possessing the firearm and attempted to get his mother to contact investigators and claim that it was her firearm to avoid prosecution.

Connell is prohibited by law from ever possessing a firearm due to his previous felony convictions for second-degree robbery and first-degree possession of Methamphetamine in the Henderson, Kentucky courts.

"Illegally armed felons drive gun violence and other criminal activity in our communities," said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. "The U.S. Attorney's Office, in partnership with ATF and our state and local partners, will continue to prioritize federal prosecution of the armed criminals who pose the greatest danger to those closest to them and to the public. The sentence imposed today demonstrates that violent criminals who choose to illegally possess guns risk significant time in federal prison with no possibility of parole."

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Indiana State Police and Evansville Crime Guns Intelligence Center investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Richard L. Young.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted this case.

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