Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NAMIR WALKER, 23, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. Circuit Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 26, 2021, East Hartford Police arrested Walker after he was found in possession of approximately 170 dose bags of fentanyl, approximately 18 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun.  Subsequent investigation revealed that Walker had previously possessed a Zigana, Model PX-9G2 pistol, which had been part of a shipment of 50 Zigana PX-9G2 pistols that was stolen from an R&L Carriers warehouse in South Windsor in August 2021.  Investigators recovered the stolen Zigana pistol, and reviewed social media posts from mid-September 2021 in which Walker appears to offer to sell two stolen Zigana pistols to another individual in exchange for $1,800.

Walker has been detained since his arrest.  On July 29, 2022, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

To date, 14 of the 50 stolen firearms have been recovered by law enforcement

This investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the South Windsor Police Department and East Hartford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and A. Reed Durham through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  In May 2021, the Justice Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: Fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.