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Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIAN EVANS, 21, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today to fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2019, after a spate of gun violence in Hartford, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, DEA, Hartford Police Department and other law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation targeting gang-related drug distribution and associated violence in north Hartford. On August 7, 2019, investigators made a controlled purchase of fentanyl from Evans.
Evans was arrested on September 13, 2019. On that date, investigators searched his residence and seized a loaded semiautomatic pistol, a loaded handgun with no serial number, and $1,025 in cash.
In May 2014, Evans was convicted in state court of first degree robbery and conspiracy to commit first degree robbery. 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.
Evans pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of fentanyl, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on September 4, 2020.
Evans has agreed to forfeit the firearms and cash that were seized from him at the time of his arrest.
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.