NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A South Carolina man who trafficked guns into Connecticut will spend eight years in federal prison, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials learned in spring 2021 that 42-year-old Marquis Jerome Pollard was using straw purchasers to get guns in South Carolina, and then sell them in Connecticut, according to Avery. Investigators bought one of the guns in April 2021 for $1,500.

The gun was one of five that had been purchased at a pawn shop in Port Royal, South Carolina, a month before being sold in New Haven.

Pollard had bought 17 guns. Nine have not been recovered. Among the guns that have been found, one was recovered from a felon in New Haven in June 2021, one was recovered from a shooting scene in Hamden, one from the scene of a New Haven shooting and another that was recovered this month in Hamden from a suspected drug dealer.

Pollard, of Yemassee, was arrested on May 3, 2021, in South Carolina. He had three handguns at the time.

Pollard had already been convicted for second-degree burglary, along with other crimes, which made it illegal for him to own a gun or ammunition that moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

He was charged in both Connecticut and South Carolina, with the South Carolina case later being transferred to Connecticut.

Pollard, who pleaded guilty in October, faced up to two years in prison.

Quinn Mooring, of New Haven, who was accused of selling the gun with Pollard, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to possession of a firearm by a felon. He has not been sentenced.