District of Connecticut

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that EDUARDO COLON, 34, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 100 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 3, 2022, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force made a controlled purchase of 1,000 wax sleeves of fentanyl from Colon in front of his Manchester residence on Buckland Hills Road. Later that day, a court-authorized search of Colon’s residence revealed a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun, approximately 2,100 sleeves of fentanyl, approximately 230 grams of unpackaged fentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, a money counter, and approximately $11,000 in cash.

Colon’s criminal history includes state felony convictions for narcotics offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

Colon has been detained since June 3, 2022. On March 27, 2023, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Manchester Police Department, New Britain Police Department, West Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Reed Durham.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.