A New Haven man will spend two more years behind bars after violating the terms of his supervised release from prison, where he recently served nearly two years for illegal possession of a gun, officials said.
Eerie “Buck” McClendon, 32, appeared in court in Hartford on Wednesday and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to two more years in prison for violating the conditions of his release by incurring new criminal charges, testing positive for drug use and having contact with another felon, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
McClendon was released from prison in June 2022 and just three months later, in October 2022, was arrested by police in Hamden. He was charged with assault, threatening and risk of injury to a minor in connection to a domestic violence incident the month before, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
McClendon also tested positive for cocaine and marijuana use multiple times between June and December 2022 and violated the terms of his release in multiple other ways, officials said, including by having unauthorized contact with another convicted felon.
McClendon was sentenced in Sept. 2020 to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, officials said.
His conviction stemmed from an incident in May 2019, when officers responded to reports of a person with a gun at Goffe Street Park in New Haven, officials said.
Officers encountered McClendon at the park and asked him to take his hands out of the pocket of his sweatshirt. When he did, he tossed a handgun to a bystander, who let the gun fall to the ground. McClendon then struggled with officer before eventually being detained, officials said.
Investigators found a loaded 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number at the scene, records show.
McClendon has a criminal record dating back to 2015 with felony convictions for interfering with an officer and possession of narcotics, according to court records.
