NY Man Sentenced For Role In Bridgeport Drug Dealing Operation: Feds

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 22-year-old Bronx, New York man was sentenced this week to a year and a day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in a drug dealing operation in Bridgeport, according to United States Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery.

Juan Martinez, Jr. was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport. In April, Martinez pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to possession with intent to distribute narcotics.

According to court documents and statements, in September 2020, law enforcement installed a GPS tracking device on a Volvo XC90 belonging to Martinez’s cousin, Joseph Matos, which investigators had learned contained a "trap" that was used to conceal and transport narcotics. Matos lived in both Bridgeport and at a residence on Martha Place in the Bronx, New York.

Investigators tracked the Volvo for several months as it traveled between southern Connecticut and New York, on the west coast of the U.S., and to Tijuana, Mexico, according to prosecutors.

In March 2021, the Volvo was brought back to Connecticut via a car carrier from California, and investigators observed Matos as he traveled from his Bronx residence to a location in Trumbull to pick up the vehicle. Authorities stopped the vehicle and arrested Matos after a search revealed approximately two kilograms of cocaine hidden in the trap.

Martinez, who assisted Matos’s drug operation, was arrested that same day at the Martha Place residence. A search of the residence revealed:

• More than 500 grams of cocaine
• Approximately 50 pounds of marijuana
• Narcotics packing materials
• More than $143,000 in cash
• 8 firearms
• Silencers
• High-capacity magazines
• Ammunition

At the time of his arrest, Martinez was in the process of packing the contraband to remove it after learning that Matos had been stopped by police in Connecticut, according to prosecutors.

Matos pleaded guilty and in July, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison.

This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Bridgeport High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA Bridgeport Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bridgeport, Danbury, Milford, Norwalk, Stamford, and Stratford Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Peck.