Police: Convicted felon threw ‘ghost gun’ at home as he tried to flee in Waterbury

WATERBURY, CT (WFSB) - A convicted felon with a couple of outstanding warrants was tracked down by police in Waterbury.

Jose Esquilin, 24, was arrested in the area of Willow Street on Tuesday.

The arrest came as part of an investigation by the Waterbury Police Department’s Gang Task Force and the State Police Violent Crimes Task Force.

Esquilin, who was wanted on two outstanding warrants for violation of probation and first-degree failure to appear, was spotted in the area of Willow Street, police said.

He noticed officers and fled on foot.

During the process of Esquilin fleeing, police said they saw him throw a loaded handgun toward a nearby home.

Esquilin was caught by officers shortly afterward and taken in to custody without further incident.

Officer said they recovered the loaded P80 Polymer 9MM “ghost gun” with an extended magazine of 29 live rounds of ammunition.

Police described Esquilin as a convicted felon who was already on probation for previous firearm charges.

Esquilin was charged with interfering with an officer, tampering with evidence, criminal violation of a protective order, illegal possession of a large capacity magazine, criminal possession of a firearm/ammunition, criminal possession of a pistol/revolver, and carrying a pistol without a permit.

Police said Esquilin remained in custody and was held on a combined surety bond amount of 1.2 million dollars.

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