Waterbury Teen Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Stealing 21 Guns from Salem Store, Carjackings

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYSSAN WOODS, also known as "Tigger," 19, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for stealing firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer in Salem and committing two armed carjackings in Stamford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning of March 15, 2024, Woods, Eduardo Cruz, and others drove a car into the entryway doors of Statewide Pawn Shop, a federal firearms licensee in Salem, and stole 21 firearms from the store. Later that day, law enforcement made a controlled purchase of three of the stolen firearms from Cruz and a juvenile in Waterbury. On March 18, 2024, investigators purchased another of the stolen firearms from Cruz, who arrived at the meeting location with two juveniles. Cruz was arrested at that time, and law enforcement recovered two additional stolen firearms, one that was carried by one of the juveniles, and one from Cruz's vehicle.

On March 28, 2024, Woods committed two carjackings in Stamford. Later that day, Connecticut State Police found Woods seated in the driver's seat in one of the stolen vehicles and took him into custody. Investigators recovered the other stolen vehicle in Waterbury, and a search of Woods' residence revealed two of the stolen firearms.

Thirteen of the stolen firearms are still missing.

Woods has been detained since his arrest. On June 20, 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of theft of firearms from a licensee, two counts of carjacking, and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Cruz pleaded guilty and, on June 9, 2025, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Connecticut State Police, and the Waterbury, Stamford, and Wolcott Police Departments.

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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Mahard through the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program.