HARTFORD, Conn. — Two 18-year-olds from Waterbury were indicted by a federal grand jury in New Haven last month for stealing 21 guns, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
The indictment also includes allegations of gun trafficking and armed carjackings.
Tyssan “Tigger” Woods and Eduardo Cruz were named in the indictment. Both teens pleaded not guilty in Hartford federal court on Tuesday, the release said.
Prosecutors allege that on March 15, Woods, Cruz and others stole 21 firearms from Statewide Pawn Shop, a federal firearms licensee in Salem. Cruz allegedly trafficked some of the guns before being arrested on March 18.
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After the burglary, Woods allegedly used a gun to commit two carjackings alongside an accomplice, prosecutors said. Woods was arrested on March 28.
Prosecutors said that eight of the 21 stolen guns have been recovered by law enforcement.
The indictment was returned on June 24; it charges Woods and Cruz with theft of firearms from a licensee, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years. Cruz is charged with two counts of firearms trafficking, which could send him to jail for up to 15 years on each count, prosecutors said.
Woods is charged with two counts of carjacking, which carries up to 15 years in prison per count, the release said. Woods was also charged with using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which is punishable by a mandatory prison sentence of seven years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is found guilty.
The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Connecticut State Police and the Waterbury, Stamford and Wolcott Police Departments.
The case is being prosecuted through Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that aims to unite all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violence and make neighborhoods safer for everyone, prosecutors said.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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