Man gets 3 years for conspiring to steal gun

Alex Wood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·3 min read

Apr. 6—A man suspected of playing a secondary role in the 2019 burglary of a Stafford pawnshop where seven guns were stolen, accepted a plea bargain Monday in which he was convicted of conspiring to steal a single firearm and sentenced to three years in prison, records show.

The man, Adam F. Miller, 28, who has listed an address on Mountain Street in Vernon, has been in jail, unable to post bond, since Nov. 21, 2019, the day he was charged in the pawnshop burglary, online state records show.

That time will be credited against his sentence. Stealing a firearm is considered a non-violent crime, meaning that Miller will be eligible for parole after serving half his sentence, which will be less than two months from now.

Miller appears to have been down the road at a fast food restaurant when the 30-second burglary occurred at the Simon Says pawnshop around 8:50 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2019, according to evidence recited in an affidavit by Stafford Resident State Trooper Michael Buck.

GUN SENTENCE

DEFENDANT: Adam F. Miller, 28, who has listed an address on Mountain Street in Vernon

GUILTY PLEAS: Conspiracy to steal a firearm, second-degree threatening, third-degree criminal mischief

SENTENCE: Three years in prison

Security cameras recorded the burglary, but the burglars wore hoods, masks, and gloves in heavy rain, according to the trooper, who doesn't quote any witness as making a positive identification from the surveillance images.

The trooper quotes Miller as saying, however, that he dropped off Damien Garcia, now in his mid-30s, and Lawrence A. McEwen Jr., now 39, both of Vernon, at a restaurant near the pawnshop — and that Garcia and McEwen later showed off guns they had stolen at the shop.

Garcia, McEwen, and McEwen's brother, Jonathan N. McEwen, who is now in his early 30s and has listed an address on East Main Street in Vernon, are facing charges in the pawnshop burglary. All three are also facing related federal charges.

Lawrence McEwen is suspected of throwing away a .40-caliber pistol during a police chase before his arrest on Sept. 17, 2019, authorities say. He later told authorities that he and Garcia were planning to go to Hartford to trade the pistol for heroin, according to a federal agent's affidavit.

Garcia and Lawrence McEwen declined to help investigators recover the guns, the agent added.

Jonathan McEwen is suspected of being at the fast food restaurant with Miller when the pawnshop burglary took place, according to Buck's affidavit.

Jonathan McEwen pleaded guilty in September to a federal charge of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony and is awaiting sentencing, scheduled for June 4 in U.S. District Court in Hartford.

He was free on bond for a time, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson sent him back to jail in October after finding he had violated bond conditions and was unlikely to abide by any such conditions.

Lawrence McEwen is being held at the Hartford Correctional Center in lieu of a $200,000 bond, online state Department of Correction records show.

Garcia, who is facing several lesser state cases in addition to the pawnshop burglary, is free on a promise to appear in court, according to online state court records.

In addition to the charge of conspiring to steal a firearm, Miller was convicted in his plea bargain of second-degree threatening and third-degree criminal mischief in earlier incidents, online state court records show. He received a concurrent one-year prison sentence for the threatening and received an unconditional discharge, meaning no punishment, for the criminal mischief.

Detailed online records of all of Miller's cases were sealed from public view for some time until Monday's sentencing for reasons that aren't known.

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1, Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.

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