Morris Carter III, also known as “Mo,” was sentenced on April 17 to 156 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for firearm offenses and violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior conviction, according to United States Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut.
The sentencing follows Carter’s involvement in an altercation at a convenience store in Hartford on February 19, 2023. Evidence presented at trial showed that Carter struck another patron with a firearm magazine during the fight, causing ammunition to be ejected. Surveillance footage captured him holding a firearm before he fled the scene. Authorities said Carter threw two handguns out of his car window while driving toward Wethersfield. Police later stopped his vehicle, found a loaded magazine inside, and arrested him. Officers recovered both discarded firearms along with magazines and ammunition after receiving information from a local resident.
Carter has remained detained since his arrest. A jury convicted him on August 15, 2025, of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Judge Kari A. Dooley imposed sentences totaling over thirteen years—136 months for the firearms violations plus an additional consecutive term of twenty months for breaching supervised release terms related to an earlier conviction for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as police departments from Hartford and Wethersfield, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel J. Gentile and Sean P. Mahard prosecuted it.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut prosecutes federal crimes and manages civil cases for the United States within Connecticut; its office operates locations in New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport while employing about 68 assistant attorneys and 57 support staff members according to its official website. The office is one of the oldest federal prosecutorial offices in operation since its establishment in 1789 according to its official website.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office advances justice initiatives that aim to improve quality of life throughout Connecticut according to its official website, serves residents statewide according to its official website, operates under the Department of Justice according to its official website, employs numerous attorneys and support staff according to its official website, prosecutes both criminal cases as well as civil matters on behalf of the government according to its official website, and has produced alumni who have gone on become judges or elected officials according to its official website.