California Man Sentenced For Trafficking Cocaine To Hartford Area: Feds

HARTFORD, CT — A Long Beach, Calif., man who helped ship kilogram quantities of cocaine to Connecticut, specifically the Hartford area, has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, authorities said.

Jonathan Garcia, 37, also known as “Gordo,” was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 78 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Garcia pleaded guilty on Aug. 11, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. He is free on bond and must report to prison on April 22.

The case stems from a 2022 investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force into what prosecutors described as a large-scale drug trafficking organization distributing kilogram quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Connecticut.

Investigators used court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, and controlled purchases of narcotics. Authorities said the group received narcotics from sources in California via Mexico.

In February 2023, investigators intercepted two parcels mailed by a member of the organization from a West Hartford post office to addresses in Southern California.

One package contained about $6,500 in cash and two new Apple iPhones, and the other contained about $38,300 in cash, authorities said.

The investigation also found that members of the Loose Cannonz motorcycle club, based in East Hartford, were receiving shipments of fentanyl and cocaine for distribution in the Hartford area, according to prosecutors.

Authorities said Garcia and another person coordinated shipments of kilogram quantities of narcotics from Mexico to Connecticut.

Garcia sometimes traveled to Connecticut to facilitate transactions and collect drug proceeds.

Garcia was arrested on Oct. 24, 2023. Court records show he was previously convicted in 2017 in federal court in the Central District of California on a cocaine trafficking charge.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA’s Hartford Task Force, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The task force includes personnel from the DEA’s Hartford Resident Office, Connecticut State Police, and police departments in Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reed Durham and Robert Dearington prosecuted the case.

For information on the case, click on this link.