Southington Man Convicted of Firearm and Drug Offenses Stemming from 2020 Shooting in Hartford

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on November 21, 2025, a federal jury in New Haven found ERIC D. COX, 42, of Southington, guilty of firearm and narcotics offenses stemming from a shooting in Hartford in 2020.

According to the evidence introduced during the trial, on September 4, 2020, Cox engaged in a violent altercation near Hartford Hospital in Hartford.  During the altercation in which Cox was slashed with a knife, Cox pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots at the individual who slashed him and others in the vicinity, which resulted in a bystander being shot multiple times.  Hartford Police responded to the incident and found several cartridge casings on Jefferson Street where the stabbing and shooting occurred, and a hospital employee found a discarded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol outside the entrance of the hospital’s emergency department and notified law enforcement.  Police searched Cox’s car after the incident and found a bag containing approximately 28 grams of cocaine.  Subsequent analysis of the firearm revealed the presence of Cox’s DNA.

Cox’s criminal history includes a federal conviction in 2008 for a crack cocaine distribution offense for which he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.

The jury found Cox guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and possession of cocaine, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of two years.

Cox is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.

The Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office prosecuted the other individual involved in the altercation.     

This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Dearington and Mary G. Vitale.