A Waterbury teenager has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for stealing firearms from a Salem gun dealer and committing two armed carjackings in Stamford. Tyssan Woods, also known as “Tigger,” 19, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford. After his release, Woods will be subject to four years of supervised release.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Woods, along with Eduardo Cruz and others, drove a car into the entryway doors of Statewide Pawn Shop—a federally licensed firearms dealer—in Salem during the early morning hours of March 15, 2024. The group stole 21 firearms from the store. Later that day, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of three stolen firearms from Cruz and a juvenile in Waterbury. On March 18, investigators purchased another stolen firearm from Cruz, who arrived at the meeting with two juveniles. Cruz was arrested at that time; police recovered two additional stolen guns—one carried by a juvenile and one found in Cruz’s vehicle.
On March 28, Woods committed two carjackings in Stamford. Connecticut State Police later found him seated in one of the stolen vehicles and took him into custody. Investigators recovered the other stolen vehicle in Waterbury and found two more stolen firearms during a search of Woods’ residence.
Thirteen of the stolen firearms remain missing.
Woods has been detained since his arrest. He pleaded guilty on June 20, 2025, to theft of firearms from a licensee, two counts of carjacking, and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Cruz also pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 9, 2025, to three years in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Connecticut State Police, and police departments from Waterbury, Stamford, and Wolcott investigated the case.
U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan expressed appreciation for local cooperation: “U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the State’s Attorney for the Judicial Districts of Waterbury, New London, and Stamford-Norwalk for their cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Mahard prosecuted the case through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
