Bridgeport Felon Sentenced to 57 Months in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ZAN HAIRSTON, JR., 26, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to 57 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for illegally possessing firearms.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 9, 2023, the Bridgeport Police Department received a report that Hairston had unlawfully entered a residence of a former girlfriend, searched through her belongings and, during a subsequent FaceTime call with her, threatened her by brandishing what appeared to be a firearm. When officers located and approached Hairston on Union Avenue in Bridgeport, he attempted to flee. He was apprehended a short distance away, and officers recovered from the ground near Hairston a Taurus TX .22 firearm equipped with a mounted laser and loaded with an extended magazine containing 20 rounds of ammunition, a Glock 26 Gen4 firearm loaded with one round, and a Glock magazine with 13 rounds of ammunition.

Hairston's criminal history includes felony convictions in Connecticut for conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree with a firearm, burglary in the second degree, criminal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Hairston has been detained since his federal arrest on February 22, 2023. On March 13, 2024, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Bridgeport Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Kale and Lauren Clark through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit www.justice.gov/psn.