Hartford Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years for Distributing Fentanyl, Violating Supervised Release

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSEPH GRIFFIN, 43, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 138 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction. 

Judge Shea sentenced Griffin to 120 months of imprisonment for distributing fentanyl, and a consecutive 18 months of imprisonment for violating his supervised release. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Griffin was arrested on January 17, 2019, in Hartford, after investigators made a controlled purchase of more than five grams of fentanyl from him.  Griffin possessed an additional two grams of fentanyl at the time of his arrest.

In January 2019, Griffin was on federal supervised release for a 2009 conviction for distributing crack cocaine.  Griffin was sentenced, as a career offender, to 10 years of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for that offense.  He was released from federal prison in December 2017.

On November 13, 2019, Griffin pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl.  He also admitted that he violated the conditions of his supervised release.

Griffin’s criminal history includes convictions for robbery, narcotics, larceny and assault offenses.  While on supervised release, in addition to his federal arrest, Griffin was arrested three times for domestic violence offenses.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartford Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard C. Boyle.