Feds: Hartford Gun Trafficker Sentenced To 10 Years Behind Bars

HARTFORD, CT — A Hartford man was sentenced to a decade behind bars Tuesday for illegally trafficking firearms, authorities said Tuesday.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, said Alberto Vazquez, 39, of Hartford, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 10 years of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally trafficking firearms from South Carolina to Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements in court, in 2020, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Hartford police recovered multiple firearms that had been purchased in South Carolina.

Avery said, In July 2020, one of the firearms was found in the possession of a convicted felon.

In September and October 2020, additional firearms were recovered at the scenes of two separate homicides in Hartford, federal officials said.

The investigation revealed Vazquez, a felon who cannot lawfully purchase or possess firearms, conspired with individuals in South Carolina, including Joshua Bentz and Tywonda Bentz, to purchase firearms from a licensed gun dealer in Columbia, S.C., transport them to Connecticut, and sell them to felons and other customers in the Hartford area, Avery said.

Vazquez and his co-conspirators purchased approximately 37 firearms through this scheme, according to federal officials.

Vazquez’s criminal history includes convictions for felony weapon possession, robbery and larceny offenses, according to Avery.

Vazquez has been detained since his arrest on March 15, 2021.

On March 25, 2022, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license and to unlawfully transport firearms, unlawful transportation of firearms, and unlawful possession of firearms by a felon.

Joshua Bentz and Tywonda Bentz pleaded guilty to related charges and await sentencing.

In addition, Vazquez’s former girlfriend, Julitza Garcia, pleaded to making false statements to law enforcement officers during the investigation and, on May 2, 2022, was sentenced to three years of probation.

This investigation is being conducted by ATF; the Hartford Police Department; the Columbia (S.C.) Police Department; and the Richland County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Department.