Southington Man Sentenced to Prison for Gun and Drug Offenses Stemming from 2020 Shooting in Hartford

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ERIC D. COX, 43, of Southington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 29 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for firearm and narcotics offenses stemming from a shooting in Hartford in 2020.

According to the evidence presented during his trial, on September 4, 2020, Cox engaged in a violent altercation near Hartford Hospital in Hartford. During the altercation, in which Cox was slashed with a knife, Cox pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the individual who slashed him and others in the vicinity, which resulted in a bystander being shot multiple times. Hartford Police responded to the incident and found several cartridge casings on Jefferson Street where the stabbing and shooting occurred, and a hospital employee found a discarded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol outside the entrance of the hospital's emergency department and notified law enforcement. Police searched Cox's car after the incident and found a bag containing approximately 28 grams of cocaine. Subsequent analysis of the firearm revealed the presence of Cox's DNA.

Cox's criminal history includes a federal conviction in 2008 for a crack cocaine distribution offense.

On November 21, 2025, a jury found Cox guilty of one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession of cocaine.

Cox, who is released on $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on August 6.

The Hartford State's Attorney's Office prosecuted the other individual involved in the altercation.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Dearington and Mary G. Vitale.