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Project Safe Neighborhoods:

STAMFORD MAN SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGAL GUN POSSESSION

          Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GREGORY COOK, also known as “Country,” 32, of Stamford, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On January 15, 2009, COOK pleaded guilty to one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

          According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, on April 22, 2008, COOK was arrested in Stamford after a law enforcement search of his vehicle revealed a 9mm handgun.

          COOK was convicted in 1996 on federal charges for aiding and abetting armed bank robbery and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in 2003 on state charges in Alabama for possession of a pistol by a forbidden person, and in 2004 in Alabama for first-degree robbery.

          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.

          This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Stamford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David T. Huang.

          The Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, and improving the safety of residents of Connecticut’s cities. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

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