BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A New Britain man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Bridgeport to illegally possessing a gun as a felon after police found a stolen pistol in a stolen car he was driving in Hartford, according to the U.S. attorney's office for Connecticut.

Marquees Rodriguez, 23, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill, prosecutors said.

According to court documents and statements made in court, members of the Greater Hartford Regional Auto Theft Task Force watching an area of Hartford on March 5 spotted a car that had been stolen in Granby about a week earlier. Officers pulled the car over, and Rodriguez, who was driving, ran off and was caught shortly afterward, prosecutors said.

Officers found a Ruger .40-caliber pistol on the floor of the car, according to prosecutors. The gun had been stolen from a car in Berlin in January, they said.

Prosecutors said Rodriguez has state felony convictions for assault, firearm, larceny and threatening offenses.

He has been held since his arrest. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2027, and he faces up to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Rodriguez also faces charges in state court related to this car theft and several others, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Those charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent of them unless proven guilty.

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