Armed Waterbury Drug Dealer Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal Prison

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DARTRE BOOKER, 28, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. Circuit Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam in Bridgeport to 76 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for firearm possession and drug distribution offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2022, the Waterbury Police Department’s Gang Task Force made two controlled purchases of fentanyl from Booker.  Booker was arrested at his Winchester Street residence on February 16, 2022.  A search of his residence on that date revealed a 9mm pistol with 15 cartridges and a 30-round magazine, a 9mm pistol with 14 cartridges, an empty 9mm drum magazine, 335 baggies of heroin/fentanyl, marijuana, narcotics paraphernalia, and $1,115 in cash.

Booker’s criminal history includes two state convictions for felony firearm 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.

Booker has been detained since his arrest.  On August 10, 2022, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Waterbury Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth.

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.