More Gun, Drug Charges In Hartford Man's Indictment: Feds

HARTFORD/NEW HAVEN, CT — A Hartford man had additional counts of narcotics distribution and illegal gun possession charges tacked onto a prior indictment by a federal grand jury in New Haven, officials said Thursday.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said the grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Luis DeJesus, 29, of Hartford, with added narcotics distribution and firearm possession charges.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, DeJesus’s criminal history includes felony convictions in state court for criminal possession of a firearm and burglary in the third degree.

In 2022, members of the Connecticut State Police’s Statewide Narcotics Task Force – North Central Office conducted a series of controlled purchases of narcotics from DeJesus, Avery said.

DeJesus was arrested on state charges Dec. 16, 2022.

Avery said that on that date, a court-authorized search of his Hartford residence revealed approximately 500 grams of fentanyl, 97 grams of crack cocaine, approximately one kilogram of marijuana, drug processing and packaging materials, a loaded Glock 45 9mm handgun, and approximately $52,000 cash.

The case was adopted for federal prosecution and, on March 7, 2023, a grand jury returned an indictment charging DeJesus with one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and a quantity of cocaine, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to Avery, it is further alleged that, after his federal arrest, DeJesus was released on a $100,000 bond and into home confinement at the residence of a family member on Warren Street in Hartford.

DeJesus was arrested Nov. 20, 2023, after law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence.

As investigators entered the residence, DeJesus threw fentanyl out of a window, according to federal officials.

A search of the residence revealed an additional quantity of fentanyl, a small quantity of cocaine, and drug processing and packaging materials, Avery said.

In total, DeJesus is alleged to have possessed more than 400 grams of fentanyl on that date.

On Feb. 20, 2024, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging DeJesus with an additional count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

If convicted, DeJesus faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life for each of the narcotics offenses, and a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years for the firearm offense, according to Avery.

DeJesus, who has been detained since Nov. 20, 2023, appeared Thursday in Hartford federal court and pleaded not guilty to the charges in the superseding indictment.

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