Manchester Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Purchasing and Possessing Body Armor

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WAHEED ISLAM, also known as “Walter Missouri, Jr.,” 43, of Seaman Circle, Manchester, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for illegally purchasing and possessing body armor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, WAHEED ISLAM placed an order with an overseas company for a bullet-proof vest designed to withstand gunfire from a 9mm pistol. Federal agents learned of the shipment, intercepted the package, and monitored its delivery to the defendant’s Manchester residence on December 6, 2010, whereupon WAHEED ISLAM accepted delivery of the package. A short time later, agents executed a court-authorized search warrant at the residence and found the package containing the bullet-proof vest on the premises.

ISLAM has previously been convicted of multiple felony crimes of violence, including first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a violent felony to possess a bullet-proof vest.

On January 19, 2011, ISLAM pleaded guilty to one count of possession of body armor by a violent felon.

ISLAM has been detained since his arrest on December 6, 2010.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force; Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (“ICE-HSI”) and Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”); Connecticut State Police; Manchester Police Department; and State of Connecticut Office of Adult Probation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Henry K. Kopel and Stephen B. Reynolds.