Southington Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison for Dealing AR-15-Style Assault Rifles, Marijuana

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRYAN JOYCE, 40, of Southington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 90 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for offenses related to his selling privately made AR-15-style firearms, ammunition, and marijuana.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in January 2022, the Connecticut State Police received information that Joyce was offering to sell assault weapons and other firearms, including privately manufactured firearms (PMFs or "ghost guns"), as well as ammunition and firearms accessories. On January 28, 2022, Joyce sold an undercover law officer a privately made AR-15 style rifle, a privately made 9mm handgun, and a box of ammunition, in exchange for $2,000. On March 4, 2022, Joyce sold the undercover officer two loaded AR-15 style rifles and approximately 400 grams of marijuana, for $5,800. For an additional charge, Joyce offered to supply the undercover officer with fully automatic firearms.

On March 21, 2022, Joyce was arrested at a parking lot in Waterbury where he met with the undercover officer who had arranged to purchase five more privately made AR-15 style rifles and a kilogram of marijuana. A search of Joyce's vehicle revealed the five firearms, marijuana, and numerous rounds of ammunition.

The investigation revealed that Gregory Leary was Joyce's firearm supplier. A subsequent search of Leary's Wolcott residence revealed six privately made AR-15 style rifles; two privately made 9mm semiautomatic handguns; a loaded Remington 12-gauge shotgun; a Glock .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun; a Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun stamped "San Antonio Police Department"; numerous firearm parts and accessories; equipment used to manufacture firearms; and $7,129 in cash.

Joyce is a felon with a criminal history that includes state convictions for drug, larceny, and burglary offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

On October 8, 2024, Joyce pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, three counts of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, marijuana, and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Joyce, who had been released on bond, has been detained since April 2024 after he was arrested after a domestic violence incident.

Leary pleaded guilty and admitted that he manufactured and sold more than 25 firearms to Joyce. On November 7, 2023, he was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Connecticut State Police Statewide Firearms Trafficking Task Force (SFTTF) and Statewide Urban Violence Cooperative Crime Control Task Force (SUVCCCTF/Gangs Unit), assisted by the Statewide Narcotics Task Force (SNTF) Southwest and North Central Offices, and the Bridgeport, Shelton, Orange, Waterbury, and Hartford Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.