11 from Hartford Among 16 Charged in 31-Count Indictment

HARTFORD, CT — A grand jury indictment charging 16 individuals with federal narcotics offenses, including 11 from Hartford, was unsealed Tuesday

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Patricia M. Ferrick, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Hartford Police Chief James C. Rovella, announced the unsealing of a 31-count indictment related to the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in Hartford. The indictment also charges four of the defendants with firearm and robbery offenses.

The indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in Hartford on February 23, 2017, stems from “Operation Stamp Out,” a joint law enforcement investigation headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force and the Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division targeting gang violence and narcotics trafficking in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood, and related overdoses, Daly said.

According to allegations made in court, the investigation specifically targeted criminal activity being committed by members and associates of the Orange Street Killas (OSK), a geographically-based street gang operating principally in the area of Orange, Cherry and Arbor Streets. The investigation followed a series of reports of shots fired in the area, and a homicide that was committed on Cherry Street in Oct. 2015, Daly said.

The prosecution was built on court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and physical and video surveillance, all of which revealed that Ruben Torres and certain OSK members acquired heroin and crack cocaine from other OSK members and then sold the narcotics on the streets of Hartford, Daly said.

During the investigation, on Oct. 8, 2016, at approximately 10:12 p.m., Hartford’s ShotSpotter system detected multiple shots fired in the area of 7-9 Cherry Street. Hartford police responded and located a male victim suffering from three gunshot wounds to his legs in the backyard of 51 Orange Street. The victim was transported to a hospital and survived the shooting. The indictment charges four defendants with firearm and robbery offenses related to this shooting, Daly said.

Charged in the indictment are:

• Ruben Torres, a.k.a. “Rube,” “Ru,” and “T,” 25, of Hartford
• Antwane Williams-Bey, a.k.a. “Buck,” 26, of East Windsor
• Michael Chapman, a.k.a. “Nice” and “Mizzo,” 25, of New Britain
• Charles Turner, a.k.a. “Rell” and “CJ,” 26, of Hartford
• Tayrence Willis, a.k.a. “T” and “T-Franklin,” 24, of Hartford
• Tyrryq Rodriguez, a.k.a. “Ty,” “Little Ty” and “Tye Bangs,” 19, of Hartford
• Eric Smith, a.k.a. “Hood,” 29, of Hartford
• Adrian Cruz, a.k.a. “Ray,” 28, of Hartford
• Brendan Salmon, a.k.a. “One Eye,” 23, of Hartford
• Noel Montanez, 18, of Hartford
• Jhovany Valdes, 40, of East Windsor
• Willie Deas, a.k.a. “Debo” and “Flee,” 21, of Hartford
• Marcus Gary, 33, of South Windsor
• Yolanda Lozada, a.k.a. “Sexy,” 38, of East Hartford
• Jamal Johnson, 29, of Hartford
• Buell French, 36, of Hartford

On Feb. 10, 2017, investigators arrested Torres, Williams-Bey, Chapman, Willis, Rodriguez, Smith, Salmon, Montanez and Valdes. On that date, a search of Torres’ Hartford apartment lead to the seizure of approximately 260 bags of heroin, ammunition, a gun cleaning kit and a holster. Searches of Williams-Bey’s East Windsor residence and a relative’s Hartford residence revealed approximately 900 bags of heroin and crack cocaine. Agents seized more than 300 grams of heroin and three firearms, one of which was stolen, at Valdes' East Windsor residence, and a firearm and crack cocaine at Chapman’s residence, Daly said.

Turner was arrested Feb. 21, and Salmon and Lozada were arrested March 1, according to Daly.

Cruz has been in custody since July 31, 2016, and Deas has been in custody since Oct. 28, 2016. Both were originally arrested on state charges, Daly said.

Gary and Johnson have not yet been arrested, as they are still being sought, Daly said.

The indictment charges each of the defendants with conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, heroin and cocaine base (“crack”). If convicted of this charge, based on the type and quantity of narcotics charged, Torres, Williams-Bey, Chapman and Turner face a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; Valdes, Smith, Cruz, Montanez, Lozada and Gary face a minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years; and Willis, Rrodriguez, Salmon, Deas, Johnson and French face a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, according to Daly.

Torres, Williams-Bey, Chapman, Turner, Smith, Cruz, Salmon, Valdes, Deas and Johnson also are charged with one or more counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, various quantities of heroin and/or crack cocaine, Daly said.

Torres, Deas, Willis and Rodriguez are charged with interference with commerce by robbery, and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery; Torres is charged with use of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime; and Torres, Deas and Rodriguez are charged with conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime. These charges relate to the Oct. 8, 2016 shooting in the vicinity of 7-9 Cherry Street, Daly said.

Deas also is charged with an additional count of interference with commerce by robbery, which relates to an attempted robbery that occurred Oct. 26, 2016. Finally, the indictment charges Chapman and Valdes each with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and Valdes with one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

“Gang-related drug trafficking continues to plague our inner cities,” Daly said. “A relatively small number of offenders are responsible for the vast amount of the gun violence that traumatizes our neighborhoods. These same offenders peddle the heroin that has caused the tragic spike in heroin overdose deaths in cities and towns throughout Connecticut. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners have a long-standing commitment to assist the Hartford Police in reducing violent crime and drug trafficking in our capital city. We thank the FBI and the HPD for their tremendous work supporting this prosecution.”

“It’s the continued dedication and commitment of agents and officers in this case that has led to the disruption of street gang activity in this Hartford neighborhood,” Ferrick said. “This joint effort in this case, and many others, will lead to a safer community.”

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