Man Sentenced In Connection With Enfield Heroin Overdose Deaths

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford man who pleaded guilty in August to charges stemming from his role in a pair of overdose deaths in Enfield in 2016 was sentenced Tuesday to prison.

Christopher Barreto, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing drugs involved in the deaths, according to John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, around 9:52 a.m. on Aug. 26, 2016, police and emergency medical personnel responded to a residence in Enfield and found an unresponsive 31-year-old male in the upstairs bedroom of the residence. The victim was pronounced deceased. Officers searched the immediate area and seized one empty white wax fold and six full white wax folds that contained suspected heroin. Officers also seized the victim’s iPhone. An analysis of text messages revealed that the victim had ordered heroin from an individual on the evening of Aug. 25, 2016, Durham said.

The State of Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner determined the victim’s death was caused by “acute fentanyl and ethanol intoxication,” Durham said.

Around 8:23 p.m., on Oct. 27, 2016, police and emergency personnel responded to another residence in Enfield and found an unresponsive 36-year-old man outside the house. The victim was transported to the hospital for medical attention and pronounced deceased. Officers subsequently recovered the victim’s cell phone and 20 white wax folds that contained suspected heroin. Analysis of the victim’s cell phone revealed that the victim had purchased heroin from the same individual two days before his death. Durham said.

The Chief Medical Examiner concluded the victim died as a result of the “combined effects of fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl and heroin,” Durham said.

Analysis of text messages revealed that both victims purchased heroin from an individual who had purchased the heroin from Barreto. The text messages also revealed that Barreto was consistently dealing narcotics from Apr. 2016 until he was arrested on Aug. 10, 2017. At the time of his arrest, investigators seized approximately 2,000 wax folds of heroin from Barreto’s residence, Durham said.

On Aug. 1, 2018, Barreto pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribution, and distribution of, controlled substances. He has been detained since Oct. 22, 2018, when his bond was revoked, Durham said.

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