East Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun Charges

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that EYISIEL ORTEGA, also known as “EG,” “D” and “E,” 20, of East Hartford, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to drug distribution and gun possession offenses.

This matter stems from an investigation headed by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department into drug trafficking and related acts of violence by a group of individuals operating out of the Mayberry Village housing complex in East Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between September and November 2017, investigators conducted controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Ortega.  Ortega was arrested on November 7, 2017.  On that date, a court-authorized search of his residence revealed a loaded .380 caliber Ruger LCP semi-automatic pistol, 20 loose rounds of ammunition, approximately 30 grams of crack cocaine, a quantity of fentanyl and $4,530 in cash.  The firearm had been reported stolen in Georgia. 

Ortega pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”), which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least five years.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

Ortega has been detained since his arrest.

This investigation is being conducted by the ATF and East Hartford Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Correction and the Minot (N.D.) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.