Branford Convicted Felon Arrested For Possession of Sawed-Off Shotgun

On Wednesday,  operating on information, stopped Branford resident John R. Iannucci, 40, of Montoya Drive, at 7 p.m. at the exit 54 entrance to I-95 south and found him in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and gun silencer. A convicted felon, Iannucci was arrested for criminal possession of the gun, held at the Branford Police Department and arraigned in New Haven courton Thursday morning –he is currently being held in New Haven on a $250,000 bond. Captain Geoffrey Morgan of the Branford Police stated that Iannucci’s altered shotgun had a shortened barrel.

Last March, Iannucci was convicted on several gun possession and explosive charges stemming from incidents in New Haven and East Haven in 2009. When arrested in East Haven for having explosives, the New Haven Register reportsEast Haven Chief of Police Leonard Gallo stated, “This man’s a danger to society. ... The man’s a threat. We’ve already arrested him and done our job.”

Iannucci was arrested by East Haven Police in March of 2009 for possession of explosives. According to the New Haven Register and their review of East Haven Police records, Iannucci “was driving around East Haven with homemade explosive device, throwing them out the car window and blowing up stop signs. Police say Iannucci almost accidentally blew himself up in February. He claimed to police that he was stopped at a stop light on North High Street when an unknown individual threw something into his car. When he picked it up to throw it back out, it blew up, he told police.”

According to the New Haven Register, Iannucci sustained injuries to his hand and torso in the incident of the exploding bomb in his vehicle.

In October of 2009, Iannucci was again arrested, this time in New Haven for stealing a firearm and having a loaded gun in a motor vehicle. The New Haven Register reports “police discovered a pipe bomb, shotguns, gas masks and other items inside his Mercedes.”

According to New Haven Court GA 23, Iannucci plead guilty to illegal possession of explosives, stealing a firearm and possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle. He was sentenced in March 2010 to a total of seven years suspension and six years probation–he never served jail time. Now Iannucci could face time pending a conviction on the current weapons charges and the overhanging suspension according to New Haven Court officials. He has not been arrested for violation of probation.