Hamden Man Indicted On Drug, Gun Charges: Feds

HAMDEN, CT — A Hamden man has been arrested on federal drug and gun charges, according to officials.

A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a three-count indictment Wednesday charging Latrell Rountree, 27, with drug and firearm offenses, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery announced. He was arrested on Thursday.

Rountree appeared in federal court in New Haven on Friday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Rountree’s home on May 24 and seized quantities of crack cocaine and fentanyl, three semi-automatic pistols, and ammunition, officials wrote in a news release.

As police arrived, Rountree tried to get away by jumping over the railing of the apartment’s balcony, according to officials. He was arrested and charged with related state offenses.

Officials said Rountree’s criminal history includes felony convictions for firearm offenses. 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.

The indictment charges Rountree with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine base (“crack”), which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least five years; and unlawful possession of firearms by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.