News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2004

Hartford Drug Dealer Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison

Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in New England and Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TROY LEON COLEMAN, also known as "Pimp," age 37, of Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to 360 months of imprisonment, followed by ten years of supervised release, on his conviction for distributing 50 grams or more of cocaine base ("crack cocaine"). Also, in a related administrative matter, COLEMAN's 2001 Acura 3.2 CL was forfeited. On July 23, 2004, COLEMAN was convicted by a federal jury sitting in Bridgeport. Evidence at trial established that on February 14, 2003, in Hartford, COLEMAN met with and sold 60 grams of crack cocaine to a witness cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Hartford Police Department. Some of the conversations between Coleman and the cooperating witness were tape recorded.

As noted today during the sentencing hearing, in the 1990s, COLEMAN served more than seven years in jail as a result of two state convictions for sale of illegal drugs, and a federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. In all, COLEMAN has at least 17 prior convictions.

U.S. Attorney O'Connor noted that this investigation and prosecution stemmed from a joint effort last year to target persistent offenders in Hartford's Cabot Street area.

U.S. Attorney O'Connor complimented the efforts of the DEA Task Force, which is composed of agents of the DEA and detectives from the Hartford Police Department, Manchester Police Department, West Hartford Police Department and East Hartford Police Department.